


An Advent-tageous Arrangement

by seeleyboothfan



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friendship, Future Fic, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-04 15:22:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 21,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5339012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seeleyboothfan/pseuds/seeleyboothfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A compilation of drabbles for Klaine Advent 2015.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Anniversary/Broadway

Blaine was having a rough day. Christmas was just around the corner and he was miserably alone, manning the desk of the pet store in downtown New York City, just off of Broadway. Nothing like the holidays to remind you just how alone you are. The weeks leading up to Christmas were full of happy families and couples coming into purchase presents for their pets, making Blaine more and more grumpy as he had to return home to his empty apartment. He’d wanted to adopt a furry friend, but the landlord was adamant on their ‘no pets’ policy.

Blaine glanced at the clock and sighed; one more hour and then he could finally go home. He grabbed his thermos from the counter and took a long sip of coffee, grimacing when he realized that it had gone cold.

He looked over to the entrance of the store when the bell jingled, eyes widening and cheeks coloring when he saw who was entering.

The man who had just walked through the door cut an attractive figure, taking Blaine’s breath clear out of his lungs.

“Can I help you?” Blaine asked, cheeks coloring even more when he realized how breathless he sounded.

The man smiled. He was just about to answer Blaine when the tiniest little mewl came from the scarf around the man’s neck, followed by the face of a tired kitten peeking out from its folds.

“Oh my god!” Blaine cried, making an embarrassing squeal and clapping his hands involuntarily. “What an adorable kitten!”

The man beamed, reaching up and scratching the top of the kitten’s head with a noticeably ringless left hand, not that Blaine was checking. Who could blame him if he was, though? The man was extremely attractive and he was obviously an animal lover. “This is Grizabella,” he said, looking back up at Blaine for a moment. “I’m Kurt,” he offered after a moment’s pause.

“I’m Blaine,” he replied, nodding towards the kitten. “I love the name; it’s one of my favorite musicals.”

Kurt’s smile grew. “Thank you! Not many people get the reference. It felt appropriate with the 40th anniversary coming up soon.”

Grizabella meowed again, peeking further out of the scarf and blinking her green eyes.

 “May I pet her?”

“Of course,” Kurt replied, gently removing her from his scarf and handing her over to Blaine.

Blaine cradled her carefully in his palms and held her up to his face. “Hello, beautiful girl,” he cooed, giggling when she rubbed up against his jaw, her tongue sticking out and scratching against the barely there stubble. “I’m guessing you came here for a reason. Can I help you find anything?”

“I’m in need of a collar and a bed for her.”

Blaine directed Kurt over to the far corner of the store. “All our feline items are over here. Our collection of collars isn’t too big, so if you have a design you like but not a color, I can special order it for you.”

“Thank you,” Kurt said, flipping through the collars. “Oh my goodness!” Kurt exclaimed, pulling out a collar that had been hidden at the back. He turned to face Blaine and held out the collar which was yellow and in the shape of a bowtie. “How cute!” Kurt held it up next to Blaine’s neck. “It matches!” It did in fact match the current bow tie that Blaine was wearing. Kurt cocked his head to the side. “I’m not sure she can do it as much justice as you do.” He bit his lip.

Blaine felt his face flush. Was Kurt flirting with him? “Oh gosh, I don’t know; she’s pretty cute.”

“So are you,” Kurt responded with a small smirk.

Blaine let out a helpless giggle, cradling Grizabella to his burning cheeks. Blaine turned his attention back to the kitten in his hands lest he stare for too long at Kurt or say something embarrassing. “Where’d you get her?” Blaine asked, running a finger down her back.

“She was an anniversary present,” Kurt replied, dropping his eyes back to the collar in his hands.

And with that, all of Blaine’s hopes were dashed.  Of course Kurt wasn’t single. How could Blaine have been so stupid to think Kurt was flirting? Blaine was nothing if not the consummate professional, though. “That’s fantastic,” he responded, sounding much sadder than he meant to.

“I mean, I told her that best friends don’t celebrate anniversaries, but then she gave me this little one, so I could hardly argue at that point.”

Blaine blinked slowly, trying to comprehend what Kurt had just said. “Best friend?”

“Yeah. I guess with both of us being single, she figured that celebrating it wouldn’t be too weird,” Kurt said, winking at Blaine.

Blaine nodded, still feeling thrown at the fact that Kurt was actually single and was flirting with Blaine, of that much he was fairly certain. “Would you like to look at my bed,” Blaine asked, feeling his eyes widen as he realized what he said. “The _cat_ beds, not my bed!”

Kurt chuckled, reaching out and inadvertently brushing his hand along Blaine’s jaw as he rubbed Grizabella’s neck lightly. “I was about to say that you’d need to ask me out to dinner first,” he teased.

“Okay,” Blaine responded, thankful that his voice didn’t waver, unsure where the sudden confidence came from.

Kurt blinked, looking pleased and a little shocked. “Okay, then.”

Grizabella meowed, an unmistakably pleased smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to do this, this year. It'll be a good way to get out all the random story ideas that come to my head that don't fit full stories. I'll mostly like write a story every 1-3 days, combining all the prompts from those days.


	2. Competition

This year was his year, he was certain of it.

Blaine's desserts were usually the highlight of the party. He had been baking desserts for his office Christmas parties for six years now and he was sick and tired of being one-upped by Kurt Hummel. Kurt was the costume designer for the spreads that Blaine shot and they'd been on each other's radar since day one. Blaine had a policy about not dating co-workers, so he'd shoved down his attraction, which had been hard until their first Christmas party. Blaine had brought in his freshly made [macaroons](http://41.media.tumblr.com/19b7c84cfff4ec02c8253c8f59845442/tumblr_nyte0vBVHt1r2t5nbo4_400.png), decorated festively with edible snow and holiday colors, homemade chocolate ganash in the center. Everyone had fawned over them until Kurt had swept in with homemade [cupcakes](http://41.media.tumblr.com/bc5ff87f5f0bcbe5a6e3fac2a0c527c5/tumblr_nyte0vBVHt1r2t5nbo1_400.png), painstakingly crafted into reindeers complete with edible eyes, muzzles, and pretzel horns. Everyone had flocked over to Kurt declaring his treats the unofficial winner of the party.

The next year, Blaine had brought two snowman themed treats: a ["melted snowman" sugar cookie](http://41.media.tumblr.com/9649e557a02475f413152e00cd5a0b0e/tumblr_nyte0vBVHt1r2t5nbo7_250.jpg) covered in vanilla frosting, topped with a marshmallow and a [Nutter Butter cookie](http://41.media.tumblr.com/ab9565d4ec3f370064089901b3002ebe/tumblr_nyte1ck4cT1r2t5nbo3_r1_250.jpg) covered in white chocolate and decorated like a snowman.

Kurt, meanwhile, had brought in [cake balls](http://36.media.tumblr.com/343f723555d62e7f0f7af254f79386f3/tumblr_nyte0vBVHt1r2t5nbo5_400.png) that had been decorated to look like ornaments, each one personalized with their names. Blaine had stood in the corner and fumed, munching on one of his cookies. Only when Kurt had gone for a bathroom break did Blaine saunter over and grab his ornament, trying to be angry but feeling his heart clench when he saw the small bow-tie under his name. He debated going up to Kurt and thanking him, but when he caught sight of everyone still raving over Kurt's treats, he stubbornly stalked over to his corner once more.

The third year, Kurt had won everyone over with his [brownies](http://40.media.tumblr.com/1daea304a31477443b38ec8a2a38c3b0/tumblr_nyte0vBVHt1r2t5nbo8_250.jpg). They were topped with Christmas trees, which, upon cutting into them, revealed that it was an upside down strawberry, covered in frosting. Blaine, meanwhile, was relegated to the corner with his [cornflake Christmas wreaths](http://41.media.tumblr.com/30865d4c6fee863b32f3cbd295ff4d1f/tumblr_nyte1ck4cT1r2t5nbo4_r1_400.png) and [stacked sugar cookie Christmas trees](http://41.media.tumblr.com/a89c5115aa7f9dee5c8381fddb909694/tumblr_nyte1ck4cT1r2t5nbo2_400.jpg).

It was the fourth year, with Kurt's stupidly adorable [faux hot cocoa mugs](http://36.media.tumblr.com/ac2aec27af37889ed5fb49bb0a5e297a/tumblr_nyte0vBVHt1r2t5nbo3_250.png), where Blaine drew the line.

Each year saw Blaine get more and more discouraged, frustrated that his creativity wasn't ever up to par with Kurt's, the bastard. He always gave him that smirk when everyone spent the party talking about his treats, leaving Blaine's barely picked at. He knew how much it bothered Blaine and yet he continued doing it.

It was interesting that, outside of the party, Kurt and Blaine barely interacted.

While the technically worked together on the shoots, Kurt spent his time dressing the models while Blaine was across set taking their pictures. Other than telling Kurt when he was ready to switch outfits or locations, they never talked.

Kurt was undeniably gorgeous, always styling himself up so that he outshone his models, but he never seemed to flaunt it.

Blaine, meanwhile, usually couldn't be bothered to dress up for work. There really wasn't a need, especially when he'd end up laying on the floor to get the perfect picture, or trudging through the outdoors to reach the more remote locations. It seemed silly to mess up his nicer clothes for that.

Even if Blaine had been open to a relationship with a coworker, there's no way Kurt would ever give him the time of day when he looked the way he did. So Blaine ignored Kurt the best he could, doing his best to tolerate him at the parties, him and his stupid desserts.

So here it was, another Christmas party. Blaine once again stood in the corner with his pathetic dessert (which Blaine had been for sure he'd win with). He's spent all night making reindeers out of [brownies](http://36.media.tumblr.com/98ab131a283123449c2180e767bc6782/tumblr_nyte0vBVHt1r2t5nbo6_250.jpg), [snickerdoodle cookies](http://40.media.tumblr.com/18ba09d38289e6d951f77660c2354d73/tumblr_nyte0vBVHt1r2t5nbo10_400.jpg), [sugar cookies](http://36.media.tumblr.com/99314c04f49abfed2bcc1783604555b1/tumblr_nyte1ck4cT1r2t5nbo1_250.jpg), and [peanut butter cups](http://40.media.tumblr.com/2f6eb212a11be7f7be111334586e1f76/tumblr_nyte0vBVHt1r2t5nbo9_250.jpg) and yet it still amounted to nothing when Kurt carried in his tray of delectables.

This year, Kurt had made cups of hot cocoa out of a marshmallow, melted chocolate in the middle, and the top of a candy cane as the handle. Kurt had even put mini marshmallows on top.

 _I give up_ , Blaine grumbled to himself. He was right in the middle of a pity party when he heard a throat clear in front of him. He was surprised to see Kurt there, holding out a cup with a shy smile on his face, the apples of his cheeks a light pink.

Blaine looked down at it, noting a small heart made of mini marshmallows right in the center of it. "This is for you," Kurt said softly, pressing it toward Blaine once more. "I really hope you like it."

"I'm good," Blaine replied, an annoyed edge to his voice. Couldn't Kurt see that he was trying to mope in peace?

Kurt's face fell, but he still held the cup out. "I made this special for you."

"Why?" Blaine asked, accepting the cup from him all the same. "You have to know that you've been tromping all over my desserts every year; doesn't put me in the best holiday spirit."

Kurt's mouth twisted into a wry grin. "Yeah, I never quite figured out how to do this right."

"Do what right?"

Kurt sighed. "I wanted you to be impressed with me. You hardly ever look at me during the shoots and they said you were big into Christmas desserts, so I thought it might grab your attention."

That gave Blaine pause. "Why do you want me to be impressed? We're not even in the same department."

Kurt chuckled. "I could care less what you think about my work. I'm great at my job; I don't need validation."

"So then why-"

Kurt huffed. "You're really obtuse, you know that? I've been trying to ask you out for years!" Kurt's voice rose, clearly frustrated.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh."

"You probably just should have asked."

"Yeah, I get that now." Kurt shook his head. "So, dinner tonight?"

It only took a nanosecond for Blaine to respond. "Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reference pictures for the dessert are on my Tumblr.


	3. Day

Kurt was just settling in for an afternoon of cheesy Hallmark movies when there came a knock on his door. He sighed as dramatically as he could, unburrowing himself from his blanket nest. He was going to give whoever was at his door a piece of his mind.

He flipped open the lock and wrenched the door open, shivering when he felt the winter chill blow in. The person at the door was the absolute last person Kurt expected to see: Blaine Anderson.

Kurt's face twisted into a scowl. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Blaine returned the scowl. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't an emergency, trust me." He wrapped his arms around himself, either defensively or to block out the cold, Kurt wasn't sure.

"What sort of emergency could possibly bring you to  _my_ door?"

"My car broke down."

"So?"

Blaine frowned. "So, the repair shop doesn't have a rental. My car won't be ready for another day and the only hotel in this god forsaken town is full. Merry Christmas, huh?"

At that, Kurt's scowl dropped and his anger dissipated. "That really sucks," he said, a tinge of sympathy to his voice. "Would you like to come inside out of the cold?"

Blaine, a slightly shocked expression on his face, nodded and followed Kurt inside. He smiled, whispering a grateful 'thank you' when Kurt held out his hand for Blaine's coat and hat.

"It's nothing someone else wouldn't do."

Blaine raised his eyebrow, but didn't respond. He looked around Kurt's house curiously.

Kurt, meanwhile, floundered with what to do and say. He hadn't seen Blaine in a few years. The last time they'd been in the same room, they'd been screaming at each other.

" _You don't know what you're talking about!"_

" _He's a liar and a cheat!"_

" _ **You're**_ _lying! You've always hated the fact that I chose him over you!"_

" _Because he doesn't deserve you! He's never been true to you!"_

" _You're only saying that because you're too late! You can't suddenly decide you love me when I've chosen to be with someone else."_

" _Kurt, you have to know that I'm the better choice. Adam's going to hurt you."_

" _I can't believe you'd do this to me! You never once showed that you had feelings for me. I couldn't wait around any longer. I'm with Adam now – you can't change that! I won't break up with him because you want what you suddenly couldn't have."_

" _Kurt, I-"_

" _No, Blaine. We're done here."_

Suffice to say, Kurt never thought he'd see Blaine again. He'd accused Blaine of lying just to break up himself and Adam, and of only having feelings because Kurt wasn't available anymore. Blaine had looked so hurt when he'd left that day. They'd gone their completely separate ways after that day, Kurt moving in with Adam and Blaine heading off to a college in another state.

"You were right," Kurt offered, watching Blaine take in his surroundings.

"About what?"

"Adam – he was cheating on me." Kurt grimaced.

"Kurt, I'm so sorry. I never wanted-"

"I know." Kurt bit his lip. "I debated calling you, but I could never work up the courage."

"It really hurt, you know," Blaine said, scuffing his foot on the carpet, "you thinking that I only realized I loved you when I lost you to him." Blaine looked back up at Kurt. "I loved you for a long time, but I never thought I deserved you."

"I wish you would have just said something. It would have a saved a lot of heartache."

"We've got a lot of missed opportunities in our lives, huh?"

Kurt nodded. "But maybe today we won't miss it?" he offered, smiling at Blaine. "That is, if you're not already seeing someone?"

Blaine shook his head quickly. "There's a reason I'm alone for the holidays."

"Then, today, let's not be alone together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've started using Holiday AU prompts that I found on Tumblr. This one is "I know we hate each other, but it's Christmas Eve and your flight was canceled. Please come inside." I've changed it up slightly, as you'll see.


	4. Escape

Blaine had just stepped out of the shower, finally refreshed after the coolness had lowered his body temperature to a normal degree. Ever since Kurt had broken the radiator this morning, the temperature in their apartment had risen to unbearable levels, finally resulting in Blaine taking as cold of a shower as he could.

After putting on his lightest tank top and shorts, he ventured into the main room of the apartment, pausing when he saw just how much it had changed in the time he was showering. Somehow Kurt had transformed their admittedly bare living room into a tropical wonderland.

"The hell?"

Kurt, who had been opening a beach umbrella over a folding chair, turned around to face Blaine. "Do you like it?"

"I don't know," Blaine replied, taking in everything Kurt had done. "Give me a second." He turned in a slow circle. Kurt had pushed all their furniture to the corner of the room, setting up folding chairs side by side in the middle, beach umbrellas over them. There was a pitcher of some sort of fruity cocktail on a table next to the chairs with a plate full of chopped tropical fruits as well. "You've been busy. It looks nice."

"Yeah? I thought maybe with the heat, a tropical escape would be appropriate." Kurt said, tilting the umbrella so that it covered the chair on the right just so. He lifted up the corner of his t-shirt and used it to rub the sweat off his forehead. "Now that it's all set, I'm going to take a shower as well. After that, what do you say we get this party started?"

"Sounds good." Blaine made his way to their spare room, rummaging through their two costume boxes, smiling when he found what he was looking for. He grabbed two of them and ventured back into the main room. He set the items to the side and reached for the pitcher, pouring himself and Kurt some drinks. He swallowed down half of his own, sighing in relief as the cool, sweet liquid trickled down his throat. He refilled the drink, setting it back down on the table.

It was so sweet of Kurt to set this up for them. Blaine had been having a hard time at school recently and this was just what he needed to relax and reboot. He was such a great friend; Blaine was so grateful to have him in his life.

It was just as Blaine was sliding paper umbrellas into their drinks that Kurt exited the bathroom, dressed only in low hanging cargo shorts. Blaine's brain fizzled out at the sight, stray droplets of water trailing down Kurt's chest. It wasn't often that Kurt was shirtless around Blaine. He tended to keep himself in layers, even passing between rooms in their own house.

So maybe it was the beginnings of the buzz Blaine had, or the increasing heat, or maybe just the euphoria of the stress leaving his system, but Blaine's brain wasn't really working anymore. Gaze stuck on Kurt's chest, Blaine grabbed one of the objects he'd taken from their costume box and walked over to Kurt, settling it gently over his neck so that it rested against his skin.

"Our leis," Kurt breathed, eyes darting down to look at the colorful flowers before rising to meet Blaine's gaze. "I'd forgotten about those."

Blaine's brain still on the fritz, he was unable to come with a response other than an entirely inappropriate comment. He just nodded, running his hands along the lei. "You look amazing," he finally said, eyes widening when he realized what he'd allowed himself to say. "With the lei on," he quickly added, cheeks going red.

"Thank you," Kurt said, licking his lips and stepping away. He grabbed the other lei that Blaine had brought out and he turned back to face Blaine. "My turn." He reached up and settled the lei over Blaine's neck, running his hands over it to settle it correctly. "You look amazing too…. in your lei," he said after a long pause, a small smirk rising to his lips.

Blaine's breath hitched in his chest. Did Kurt know he was having trouble dealing with the sight of all this skin? Kurt was his friend, for god's sake. He shouldn't be having feelings for him.

Kurt grabbed both of their drinks and handed Blaine his. He tapped their glasses together. "Merry Christmas, Blaine."

He reached down and grabbed his drink, sucking it down in three swallows. "Merry Christmas, Kurt."

Kurt grabbed the pitcher and refilled their glasses. "If you're getting hot, you could always take off your shirt, too," he teased, eyes twinkling. "What? I don't mind if you're looking at me. It's flattering."

Blaine blushed even harder, dropping his head in embarrassment. "Kurt…" he couldn't keep the soft plea out of his voice.

"Okay, I'll leave it alone." Kurt patted Blaine on the shoulder and settled himself in to the chair on the right. "Take a load off, Blaine."

Blaine took a deep breath and sat down as well. He reached out his glass and tapped it with Kurt's. "Thank you for doing this, Kurt."

"Of course. What are friends for?"

_Friends… yeah…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt: "Our Christmas party turned into a tropical theme because the radiator is broken and it's hotter than hell in here. Damn, you look good without a shirt. I never noticed before asgdhfjgkhl"


	5. Fan

Kurt loved watching the snow gently falling outside the sliding door. It was so relaxing and reminded him of late nights at home with his Dad. He'd bundle Kurt up on the couch and make a cup of hot cocoa. He'd turn the living room lights off and they'd watch the flakes fall softly past the window, the single string of white lights illuminating them with almost a flaming glow.

So, when Kurt was feeling particularly homesick, he'd do the same thing in his current apartment, pretending his Dad was sitting just to his side. This year, Rachel had gone on a cruise with her dads and Burt and Carole had taken a trip to Florida to visit her parents, so Kurt was alone for the week leading up to Christmas.

Kurt took a large sip of his hot cocoa and propped his feet up on the coffee table. The snow was falling steadily outside his sliding door, creating a sort of peaceful hideaway inside. Suddenly, a large black blob went flying past, followed by a large thud. Right after that, a strand of lights dropped down, right down the middle of Kurt's glass.

Did a body really just fall into the snow outside his apartment?

Kurt slammed his cup down onto the table and jumped up, slipping on his boots and a coat, whipping the door open and rushing outside.

The person who had fallen was flat on their back in the snow, groaning and wiggling their limbs.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked, kneeling down next to the person. "Maybe you shouldn't be moving." Kurt reached out and placed his hands on the person's torso. "Should I call an ambulance?"

The person groaned, eyes opening slowly and meeting Kurt's. It was only then that Kurt recognized who it was that had fallen almost directly onto his doorstep. Blaine fucking Anderson, Broadway's sexiest bachelor, was lying in the snow at Kurt's feet.

Blaine groaned, his face twisting in pain. "Please don't call an ambulance. I'm sure I'm just bruised."

"You're shivering. Let's get you inside." Kurt slipped his arm under Blaine's shoulders and lifted him up as carefully as he could.

Blaine cried out in pain when his weight settled on his left foot. "Shit," he gritted out, settling his weight more up on Kurt.

Kurt shuffled them both inside his apartment, carefully settling Blaine down onto his couch and then going back to the door to slide it closed. It was only as he was coming back to Blaine that Kurt realized he'd made an embarrassing mistake.

There was a large poster of Blaine's most recent Broadway show front and center on Kurt's mantelpiece, Blaine's smirking face just staring at him. Along the bookshelf to the right and left of it, there were copies of playbills for every single show Blaine had been in.

"Obviously you know who I am," Blaine said, looking up at the poster and chuckling. "Should I be worried?"

"Oh god," Kurt said, face red. "It's not what it looks like."

"So you're not my biggest fan?"

"I swear to god, this isn't what it looks like. I had no idea you were living above me. I'm not some creepy stalker."

"Good to know, because I'm sort of an invalid right now," Blaine said, gesturing to his ankle.

"Speaking of which, I'm going to go get you some ice." Kurt escaped to the kitchen, willing his burning cheeks to dissipate. Kurt had never thought he'd meet Blaine outside of a stage door, but in his most secret dreams, he'd pictured a much less embarrassing meeting. Instead he'd brought Blaine into an apartment decorated entirely with him.

Once Kurt had given himself some time to calm down, he reached into his freezer and grabbed a few ice cubes, placing them in a Ziploc bag and locking it. He took a deep breath and walked back into the living room. Kurt wrapped the ice in a towel and handed it to Blaine. "So, how did you fall off your porch?"

Blaine was the one now that looked terribly embarrassed. He picked at one of his cuticles. "I may or may not have been putting up Christmas lights."

"In this weather?!"

"Yeah, well I didn't have a great deal of time before now."

"Well, you could have really injured yourself. I'm sure your director wouldn't have appreciated that."

Blaine snorted. "I'm not excited to make that call tomorrow. There's no way I can dance on this ankle."

"I wouldn't imagine so." Kurt bit his lip, debating if he should sit himself on the couch next to Blaine or keep awkwardly standing there. "Can I get you anything warm to drink? Or maybe a blanket?"

"That'd be lovely, thank you…"

"Kurt," he responded.

"Thank you, Kurt."

Once Kurt had filled another mug with hot cocoa and grabbed a blanket, he sat down next to Blaine. "I have Elf on my DVR is you'd like to watch it with me."

"Sure, I love that movie!"

"Me too." Kurt smiled at Blaine and then started up the movie.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt: "I live below you and I was minding my own business watching the snowfall out the window when I saw a body fall. Are you really putting up Christmas lights now?"


	6. Guide

Kurt was whiling away his time in the library when he stumbled across the most curious book. It was smaller than the others and seemed to be from an older time.

The spine of it was cracked, indicating that it had been read many times. The title was worn down to the point that Kurt almost couldn't read it. Intrigued, he pulled it off the shelf, blowing the dust off the cover.

Feeling like this book was something special, he carried it to a quiet part of the library and sat himself down in one of the chairs. He opened the cover and was happy to see that the title page was still legible.

_A Guide to Being a Warbler by Blaine Anderson_

It seemed to be a handwritten journal instead of an actual book. On the second page there was a school photo. The boy in the picture was very attractive, dark hair plastered to his head and a small smile upon his face. The picture was black and white but the boy seemed to pop off of the page.

Kurt hungrily read through the entire thing, giggling over tips like "standing on furniture usually isn't permitted" and "three ways to stand out while still fitting in" and "best ways to get food stains out of your blazer".

Kurt spent the entire afternoon reading, laughing harder than he had in a long time. He was just about to flip back through to reread some earlier passages when he was startled by a voice from above him.

"Oh my god, you found it!"

Kurt looked up, dumbfounded when he saw who had spoken. As if he'd been pulled directly from the book, Blaine Anderson was standing right in front of him. "How did you get out?" Kurt asked, astounded.

Blaine blinked in confusion. "Get out of what?"

"The book?" Kurt asked, suddenly feeling stupid.

Blaine continued to look confused, before he looked down at the book once more. His eyes lit up with recognition and Blaine laughed aloud. "I'm not Blaine… well, I  _am_ Blaine, but I'm not  _that_ Blaine…" Blaine snorted. "This isn't making much sense. May I?" he asked, gesturing to the book.

Kurt nodded, still breathless at the sight of Blaine in front of him. He handed the book to him and watched as Blaine sat down next to him.

"So, a little bit of explanation: I am in fact Blaine Anderson," the boy said, smiling up at Kurt. "This book, however, is not mine; it's my great-grandfather's." Blaine flipped through the book, stopping on the page with the picture, chuckling when he saw it. "I've been told that I look like him, but I don't really see it, to be honest."

Kurt was still stunned speechless. He'd been reading through this journal/makeshift guidebook and falling a little bit for this person who both was insanely attractive and extremely witty, and now someone who looked almost exactly like him was right in front of him.

"I kind of wish I'd read this  _before_  I tried climbing on the common room table," Blaine said, smiling up at Kurt. Kurt smiled at him in return. "I'm so glad that I found this again. I put it in the book-drop with the rest of my library books last week and I thought I'd lost it forever."

"It's a good read," Kurt said. "Your great-grandfather is hilarious."

"Yeah, he was." Blaine looked through a few more pages before he looked back up at Kurt. "So, now that you know a little of my life story, maybe I could get your name?"

"Oh, sure. I'm Kurt." He held out his hand and shook Blaine's. "I was thinking about auditioning for the Warblers; was your grandfather right about the auditions?"

"They got rid of the 'original composition' part of the process, even though the idea is intriguing. Basically, you just pick a song you feel would benefit an acapella group and you perform the lead vocals for entire team."

"Okay, that's still terrifying… less so than with the original song thing, but still... I'll admit I'm used to always having background instrumentals."

Blaine laughed. "That sort of defeats the purpose of acapella, Kurt."

"I get that now."

Blaine clutched the book to his chest, suddenly looking nervous. "If you'd like, I could help you pick out a song."

"Really?"

Blaine nodded. "You found the book for me, it's the least I could do."

"I should really be thanking  _you_ ," Kurt said, dropping his gaze back to the book. "I was kind of having a rough day and it really cheered me up."

"Want to talk about it?" Blaine asked, looking at him with kind eyes.

Kurt bit his lip, the need to tell Blaine everything suddenly pooling in him. "It's my first week here and it's really intimidating. I've gotten lost three times today," Kurt admitted with a blush. He'd been feeling homesick and all it took was a few pages of Blaine's book and he was smiling hard enough that his cheeks hurt.

Blaine stood up and held out his hand to Kurt. "Well, if you'd like I have a bunch of sheet music back in my room. We could just hang out and pick out a song for you to sing."

"Oh, okay." Kurt felt his heart speed up. This was the first time he'd been invited up to a boy's room, and the fact that Kurt was already crushing hard on Blaine wasn't making it any easier.


	7. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mild suicidal thoughts and mentions of an attack and resulting depression

Blaine lay curled up in his bed, tears streaming down his face. Every movement his body made with his sobbing caused an ache, whether it jostled his broken rib, cut cheek, bruised wrist, or sprained ankle. The boys that had attacked him had been quite thorough – they'd not only caused physical damage, but their horrible words had torn Blaine's heart to pieces.

Blaine was mentally done with it all. Before last night, he'd been able to get through each day with the hope that he'd meet someone, fall in love, and get out of this horrible town. He'd get married and have kids and experience a happily ever after. It was his little mantra that he'd repeat each and every time one of his ignorant classmates hit him or yelled slurs at him.

But now? Now Blaine was tired and he was aching and he was so very alone. Maybe it was time to just give up. Blaine closed his eyes tightly and curled into himself ever tighter, crying all the tears that he had inside of him.  _I can't keep fighting if my future is uncertain. If I could only know for certain that it'll actually get better, maybe I could keep going another day. Please, show me that it gets better._ He begged it over and over until he had finally cried himself to sleep.

It took a long while for the darkness to abate. Blaine felt like he was outside of his own body, looking down at himself. The feeling of a hand on his own made him jump.

"Hi, Blaine."

He whipped around and was surprised to see a boy his age standing behind him. "Who are you? What's going on?"

The boy smiled. "I'm Jon. You asked to see your future – I'm here to facilitate that."

"What?" Blaine asked, confused. He vaguely remembered begging over and over to be shown that his future was better than his current hell. "How-"

"It's better to just accept it. If you'll follow me? We don't have much time." Jon placed his hand gently on Blaine's back and steered him toward a door that had suddenly appeared to their right.

This had to be a dream. Blaine decided to just go along with it until he woke back up. It couldn't hurt, right?

"Nothing in your future is permanently set in stone, but there are certain inevitabilities that won't change, no matter what path you choose to take. That's what I'm here to show you," Jon said, opening the door.

Blaine hesitated for a few moments before he took a deep breath and walked through the door. He blinked, suddenly blinded by a bright light. Once his eyes adjusted, he took in his surroundings. He was in a room he didn't recognize, but he could tell it was a bedroom.

It only took a few seconds for him to see the two other people in the room. One of them was himself, looking slightly older and the other was a boy whom Blaine didn't recognize. The boy, whom he heard his own counterpart call 'Kurt' was curled up into Blaine and they were watching something on a laptop.

" _Oh, come on, Blaine. You can't possibly think this is better than the original!"_

" _I didn't say that, Kurt. I simply said that this is a breath of fresh air for the show," Blaine said smiling down at Kurt. "You were tapping your feet, too."_

" _I'm not saying it's bad. Obviously they're all insanely talented and the music is catchy. But, the original is unbeatable."_

" _I guess I'm just going to have to do this until you agree with me," Blaine teased, tickling Kurt's side._

_Kurt squealed, batting at Blaine's hand, peals of laughter escaping him. "Uncle! Uncle!" he finally shouted. "You're evil."_

_Blaine laughed and leaned down, kissing Kurt softly. "Yeah, but you love me," he finally said when he pulled away._

_Kurt, a completely serious look taking over his face, nodded. "I do. I love you, Blaine."_

Blaine, the real Blaine, gasped. Did someone actually love him? The scene before him faded slowly and a new one replaced it. He and Jon were now in a park, a slightly older Kurt and Blaine strolling hand in hand down one of the paths. Blaine watched as Kurt pulled them to a stop, dropping down onto one knee and looking up at Blaine with love in his eyes.

" _I had this whole speech planned," Kurt admitted, biting his lip, "but it's going to take too long. I don't think I can stand another second without asking you to marry me."_

_Blaine's counterpart gasped softly, reaching out shaking hands toward the ring in Kurt's hand. "Yes, yes, god, Kurt, yes."_

_Kurt slipped the ring on his finger, squeaking when Blaine picked him up from the ground and pulled him into a deep kiss._

Once more, the scene faded into another. This time there was a large group of people seated at tables surrounding a makeshift dance floor. Blaine's counterpart was older again and Kurt was once more at his side, also having aged. They were both standing in the middle of the dance floor, swaying softly. They were both wearing dark tuxes and Blaine could spot the shine of rings on their hands. As the dance ended, the people around them clapped and Kurt pulled Blaine toward a microphone that was set off to the side.

" _We'd like to thank everyone for joining us on this special day," Kurt said, smiling at the people who were there with them._

_Blaine accepted the microphone from him. "I was in a dark place before I met Kurt, but ever since I did, I've never been happier. Thank you for bringing back the sunlight, Kurt."_

_Kurt, who had sudden tears in his eyes, smiled brightly at him. "The sun was always inside you, Blaine."_

One last time, the scene faded. Blaine was brought back to his old room, Jon standing in front of him with his hands clasped behind his back. "Kurt's a part of your future, Blaine. No matter what path you take or what decisions you make, you'll find Kurt and you'll start your lives together. I can't guarantee that there won't be hard times, but together you'll make it through. You will have long and happy lives together."

Blaine felt tears pouring down his cheeks, his chest heaving with another sob. There was such happiness lingering in his heart, even when the darkness of before was slowly drifting back in. It was still going to be insanely hard to move on from the attack, but with the realization that there was better coming, that there was someone as beautiful as Kurt on his horizon, he had the hope he needed to keep fighting.


	8. Indecent

_Can you stop by my room before you head home? ~Blaine_

Kurt blinked down at his phone. The message was cryptic and he couldn't help but be worried. Had Kurt done something wrong? He thought back through the day, but couldn't think of anything he could have done.

_Sure ~Kurt_

Since Kurt was just finishing up his homework for the day, he grabbed his books and his bag, hurrying out of the study room and towards the dorms. He traveled down the meandering hallways until he finally reached Blaine's door. He knocked on it, jumping when it opened a split second later. "Hey, you made it!" Blaine said, mouth widening into a smile.

"I said I would. What's up?"

Kurt was shocked to see Blaine's face turn pink. "Why don't you come inside first?"

"Okay." Kurt followed Blaine inside. He watched as Blaine rushed over to his desk, grabbing something from the bottom drawer and hiding it behind his back. Blaine looked up at Kurt with a sheepish expression.

He rocked back and forth on his feet, face unable to meet Kurt's. Kurt could see Blaine's hands messing with the object behind his back. After a tense moment, Blaine finally looked up at him. "Do you remember the conversation we had in your room the other day?" When Kurt just scrunched his forehead in confusion, Blaine continued, "the one where you kicked me out?"

Kurt blushed, remembering how Blaine had tried to make Kurt do sexy faces and then their subsequent non-talk about sex. "Yes," he responded breathlessly, feeling his heart beat speed up.

Blaine finally steadied himself and met Kurt's gaze. "I know  _porn_ ," he said in slight whisper, "isn't your thing, but I do really feel like it's important for you to know more about sex." Blaine's blush increased, so that even the tips of his ears were red. He finally held out the book the Kurt. "This book really helped me when I wanted to learn more."

Kurt could barely look at the book, his heart pounding and his ears ringing. Kurt could just make out the word 'sexuality' on the cover and he felt his stomach flip. He didn't even want to touch it, scared that it might burn his fingers. "What?"

"I know, it's really awkward, but I thought this would be really helpful… for you." Blaine held it out to Kurt again. "Please, say you'll at least take it?"

Kurt was still wary even touching the thing, but he accepted it from Blaine anyway. "I'm just going to… head home," Kurt finally said, barely holding the book with his fingertips.

"Okay. If you have any…questions, let me know. I'm… I'm here," Blaine said, smiling shyly.

Kurt nodded and exited Blaine's room, nearly running to his car. He shoved the book as deep into his bag as he could. He drove home as carefully as possible, unable to keep himself from glancing at his bag where it sat on the seat next to him. Once he got home, Kurt locked himself in his room, looking around to make sure he was alone before he pulled the book from his bag.

Now that he didn't have Blaine's prying eyes on him, he really looked at it. The cover was conservative for its subject, a cream colored backdrop and black font reading 'Human Sexuality' along the top.

Kurt opened the book with shaking hands, cheeks coloring in embarrassment as he spotted the first of many picture of couples entwined in various locations and positions.  _Blaine_   _looked_   _at these_ , Kurt couldn't help but think, cheeks coloring more. There was nothing pornographic, but he couldn't help but be hot and bothered by it.

Really, Blaine had an odd way of showing friendship. He was always touching Kurt and flirting, and yet he'd gone and made out with Rachel. And now, he gave Kurt a book on sex, one that he'd read and, oh god, that was a picture of two men doing  _something_ indecent under the covers _._  Kurt couldn't help but stare at it with a full body shiver.

Kurt had always had this fascination with the human body and sex, in an offhand sort of way. He couldn't help but stare at any naked bodies in movies or magazines and he'd had quite a few naughty dreams with faceless men, so this book was almost like a beacon to him, offering up the images and information he hadn't known he'd wanted to ask about.

He nearly leapt off his bed when his phone buzzed.

_I'm sorry if that was really awkward ~Blaine_

_I thought I was helping ~Blaine_

_Sorry ~Blaine_

Kurt chuckled, clutching the phone to his chest, feeling his heart do flips in his chest.

_No need to apologize. It was sweet ~Kurt_

_Okay, good ~Blaine_

_Goodnight, Blaine. Thank you ~Kurt_

_Goodnight, Kurt. You're welcome ~Blaine_


	9. Jumble

Kurt had been surprised to be invited to the Warblers annual Spring Break trip to Wes' family's ski lodge in Toronto. It had seemed like a private event, but being the lead Warbler's boyfriend had its perks, even if they'd only been officially dating for three months now.

It wasn't until they got to the resort that Kurt was less excited about the trip. It was cold and snowy and frankly Kurt wasn't one for skiing.

The trip was fun for the first half of the day. Blaine had pulled Kurt into a side room in the lodge and winked, locking the door behind him. Kurt had laughed breathlessly when Blaine had pulled him into a deep kiss. They'd spent the majority of the next hour making out, something Kurt was quickly coming to like a lot.

The Warblers had come hunting for them a little while later, so Kurt reluctantly pulled away, brushing his hands through Blaine's hair. Once they looked presentable, they went to join the rest of the boys, blushing at the ribbing they were forced to endure.

"Skiing time!" David yelled, raising his hands in celebration.

Blaine joined the cheering, turning to Kurt and frowning when he saw Kurt's less than enthusiastic response. "I feel awful that we're going without you."

"It's okay, Blaine." He smiled and shooed Blaine off, urging him to go have fun. "I have my book here to read. Drinking coffee by the fireplace, that's my idea of a vacation."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," Kurt responded, accepting Blaine's soft kiss. "I'll be here to warm you up when you get back." Blaine raised his eyebrow and Kurt blushed. "Not  _that_  way, god, Blaine. I meant with a hot drink and blankets, maybe some cuddling."

Blaine chuckled and kissed Kurt once more. "Sounds perfect. Maybe later I can convince you to come out for a stroll in the snow with me?"

"We'll see. Now go have fun!"

Kurt curled himself up in front of the fireplace and lost himself in the book. After a few hours, Kurt got bored; there was only so much reading he could take before he got restless. Thinking the boys would be gone for several more hours, he bundled himself up in his coat and gloves and scarf and trudged outside for a walk. It wasn't too cold, thankfully, and the landscape was gorgeous.

Kurt was just making a turn around the final bend when he felt it: a blob of cold and wet against the neck of his coat, some of it seeping down his collar. "The hell?" Kurt cried out, turning to face his assailant. "Blaine?"

Kurt glared at Blaine and Blaine watched him in return. They stood in silence, staring at each other, as if waiting to see what the other would do. Blaine finally had the decency to look repentant, holding up his hands in surrender. "Sorry?"

"Oh, don't worry; I'll make you sorry," Kurt threatened, bending down and scooping up a mushy snowball and lobbing at Blaine's stupid face. The snowball smashed against Blaine's chest, splashing snow in his face. Kurt laughed in triumph.

"You're going to get it now!" Blaine shouted, a large, teasing smile on his face. It was only then that Kurt spotted Blaine jogging towards him. Kurt didn't have time to brace himself before Blaine tackled into him, taking them both to the snowy ground.

Kurt's breath whooshed out of him when they landed. His head thumped into the snow bank under him, knocking him silly. "Fuck," Kurt groaned, half in pain and half because Blaine was crushing him into the ground.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Kurt," Blaine immediately apologized, pulling back and looking down at him. "I didn't realize you'd go down so hard."

"That's what he said," Kurt responded with another groan, blinking up at Blaine. "Why are there two of you?"

"Oh my god, Kurt. Please tell me you're joking."

Kurt went to shake his head, but then he whimpered. "My head hurts and my brains are all jumbled. Can one of you make it go away?"

Blaine, as gently as he could, lifted Kurt up, letting Kurt settle his weight against him. "I'm so, so sorry, Kurt."

Kurt's head lolled against Blaine's shoulder. "You're really strong, Blaine. Did you know?"

"Uh huh," Blaine responded, sounding distracted. "We're almost inside."

Kurt looked up, seeing the lodge looming above them. Somehow, Blaine got them up the steps and into the main room. Before Kurt knew it, he was being forced into the nearest chair. Kurt looked up at Blaine, squinting his eyes against the light. "It wasn't nice of you to knock me down."

"I know," Blaine responded, kneeling down and placing his hands softly on the sides of Kurt's head. "What hurts?"

"The back of my head," Kurt whined. "Kiss it better?"

Blaine let out a little giggle. "Sure." He leaned forward and pressed a light kiss on the side of Kurt's head. "I'm going to call Wes' Dad. He's a doctor." Blaine pulled out his phone and pressed the screen a few times before placing it to his ear.

Kurt let himself zone out, watching Blaine's lips move as he talked to the person on the phone. He'd stopped seeing two of Blaine when they'd gotten inside and that made him sad for some reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt (with modifications): "Snowball fights – we were playing in the snow and you suddenly tackled me to the ground and now… we're just… staring… at each other…"


	10. Kink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS I had a shit time figuring out the timeline of this damn show. Christmas 0 – A Very Glee Christmas, Christmas 1 – Extraordinary Merry Christmas, Christmas 1.5 – Glee Actually (I don't mention this in the fic because they weren't actually 'together' for it and I don't think Blaine felt comfortable bringing a handmade present), Christmas 2 - … I had a hard time with this. New New York at least took place in the fall, because school had started up again, but it could have been already past Christmas, since The Untitled Rachel Berry Project seemed like summer time. Homecoming obviously takes place in the fall again, so we're already leading up to another Christmas, but we never see one by the end of the series… so where did the other Christmases fall? I ended up pretending that Christmas feel between New Directions and New New York, since that makes the most sense for the rest of the season, and then the other Christmas took place between The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester and Dreams Come True.

 

Kurt's first Christmas as Blaine's boyfriend found Blaine making him a ring out of gum wrappers. The second Christmas they were together had been magical. They'd flown back to Ohio for Christmas and spent it with Kurt's family. Blaine had made him a bouquet of paper flowers, hand folded and colored to perfection. Kurt couldn't wait to see what Blaine would make him this year, their first Christmas as husbands. Because Blaine didn't believe in buying commercial gifts. He always crafted presents and it was something that made Kurt fall in love with him even more.

Blaine was insanely talented, too. He'd made puppets with the scariest likeness to their counterparts and he'd made Kurt a scrapbook for his last birthday. They'd set up a time to exchange their gifts early on Christmas Eve, away from the prying eyes of their families.

As Kurt waited for Blaine to arrive, he fiddled with his present for Blaine, trying to make sure it was absolutely perfect. This was their first holiday that they'd privately celebrated together since being married, which wasn't terribly surprising since they'd gotten married in early November and Thanksgiving had been a blur because they were still giddy from marriage and their honeymoon.

So, suffice it to say, Kurt wanted this to go perfectly. He'd spent hours trying to pick out the perfect present. A simple bow tie or book wouldn't cut it this year, even if Blaine would smile as if Kurt had given him the world. God, he loved Blaine.

Kurt was just adjusting one of the folds for the tenth time when Blaine knocked at the door. Kurt ran over, feeling his heart beat a million miles a minute, and his mouth spread into a wide grin. "Merry Christmas," Kurt said, pulling Blaine into a kiss before he could even respond.

Kurt felt Blaine's chest rumble with a laugh, finally pulling away from Kurt to whisper "A very Merry Christmas, indeed," against Kurt's lips.

Kurt ushered him inside after another kiss, carefully shutting the door behind them. "So, can I give you your present now," he asked with barely hidden excitement, bouncing on his toes.

"Excited, are we?" Blaine teased, pulling off his coat and hanging it on the rack in the corner. He grabbed a present from the bag he'd brought with him.

Kurt nodded. "We can always eat later."

"Sounds good to me," Blaine said, following Kurt into the living room. "Oh wow, Carole went all out this year!" He looked around the living room, awe in his eyes.

"Yeah, but I had to keep her from doing even more," Kurt admitted with a laugh. "She had about four more boxes of decorations she wanted to put up."

"Good job, then. This is the perfect amount." Blaine sat himself down on the couch and patted the seat next to him. "Okay, so who goes first?" Blaine passed Kurt's present to him and grabbed his own. "Rock, paper, scissors?"

Kurt laughed. "You know I'll win. Open yours first."

Blaine glared at him playfully, but opened the present as requested. Blaine looked confused when he saw a single piece of paper in the box, but as he read the words on it, his eyes widened to comical proportions. "Oh my god, Kurt, is this real?"

Kurt nodded, nearly squealing with excitement. "I wrote an essay about you for the contest and it got picked!"

"Oh my god!" Blaine yelled, throwing his arms around Kurt and pulling him close. "I'm really going to get my song recorded as a single?"

"With a professional band doing the backing vocals and instruments!" Kurt said, clapping. "I couldn't believe it when the letter came."

"God, Kurt, this is the best present ever! There's no way I can match this." Blaine said, face falling. "I almost feel embarrassed, now."

"I'm sure I'll love whatever it is. I always love them."

"Yeah, but it's no recording studio."

Kurt pulled Blaine into a kiss, hugging him tightly afterwards. "Your love is enough for me, Blaine. I could never get another gift in my life and I'd still be the happiest guy alive."

Blaine's eyes crinkled and grew wet with unshed tears. "Kurt," he said, voice so full of love and adoration. "Okay, open your present quick so I can thank you properly."

Kurt's eyebrow raised and he smirked. "If you're going to thank me the way I think you're going to, why do we just open this later?" he teased, acting as if he was going to toss the present. He gently opened the wrapping, pausing when he saw what it was. It was some sort of article of clothing, the color a rich green. He unfolded it, holding it up so that he could see what it was. It seemed to be a sweater, but one of the sleeves was a few inches longer than the other and the yarn seemed to be kinked around the collar.

Blaine looked at Kurt with an anxious expression. "I'm really second guessing giving you this. I should have done something else."

"No, it's…" Kurt trailed off, unsure what to say without hurting Blaine's feelings.

"It's awful." Blaine sighed. "My mom tried to teach me, but I couldn't quite get the hang of it. I should have scrapped it when I messed up the collar." Blaine pouted, looking genuinely upset. "I'll get you something different, something better."

Kurt felt tears well up in his eyes, upset at how disappointed in himself Blaine seemed. Kurt set the sweater down gently on the arm of the couch next to him and took Blaine's face in his hands. "Blaine, it's perfect."

"But it's-"

"It's something you made for me; how could it be anything but perfect? There's nothing else like it in the world, because you made it for me. You might not be a pro knitter, but I will treasure it. Who else would ask their mom to teach them a new skill just to make a present? This had to have taken a long time."

"Not long enough," Blaine said, frowning and pulling at the lumpy sleeve.

"Enough," Kurt said, forcing Blaine to look at him again. "I love you more than anything else in the world. No matter how good or bad you are at something, if you do something special just for me, I will love it. And I do love this sweater. The color is gorgeous."

"Yeah?" Blaine asked, finally cracking a smile.

"And if you'd allow, I could probably fix up a few of the bits you had trouble with. We could work on it together."

"That'd be fun."

"Yeah. So, why don't we set these aside and we can thank each other properly for these?"

Blaine couldn't seem to jump up quick enough. They raced each other to the bedroom, laughing all the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt: "I knitted you a jumper/my mom knitted you a jumper."
> 
> BTW the song Blaine is going to have recorded is "Rise" - my headcanon is that he not only created the costumes (with Kurt's help in making them), but he also wrote and composed the song for them.


	11. Legend

 

The school had been obsessed with mistletoe ever since they'd learned about the different legends in their Myths and Mythologies class. Blaine had to spend the majority of his day avoiding the random sprigs hung up around the hallways by overenthusiatic students desperate for a kiss.

Blaine was annoyed. He didn't believe anyone should be forced to kiss someone. And really, mistletoe had been used to ward off evil, or as a promise of love. It wasn't meant for what people used it for nowadays. Blaine didn't need a reminder that he was alone for the holidays and he certainly didn't want to be forced to kiss the majority of the guys he went to school with. Plus, there were way too many girls eyeing him as he slithered around the random sprigs all over the hallway.  _No, thank you_.

Finally, Blaine was safely inside the rehearsal room. He sighed in relief, walking over to the nearest chair and dropping his bag into it. He shouldn't have to work this hard just to get from one class to another.

He opened his bag, rifling through it for his sheet music. He had fifteen minutes until rehearsal started, so he might as well look over his notes from last week. He was just jotting down some additional notes when he heard someone else enter the room. He looked up and felt his heart leap when he saw that it was Kurt.

Blaine had been crushing on Kurt hard, ever since he'd joined Glee Club this year, but he hadn't been able to get the courage to actually say anything to him other than a casual greeting. Kurt's eyes lit up when he saw Blaine and his mouth quirked into a smile. "Hi, Blaine."

"Hi," Blaine replied, cursing how nervous he sounded.

"I'm so glad you're already here," Kurt said, walking past him to set down his bag on the chair next to Blaine.

"Yeah?"

Kurt nodded, pulling out his own sheet music and walking up to Blaine. "I had a question about one of the harmonies on the final verse that I thought you could help me with."

Blaine could feel his eyes widen. "Why ask me? Wouldn't Adam be more helpful, since he's captain?"

Kurt frowned. "But I don't want to ask Adam. I want to ask you."

"But why?" Blaine couldn't help but ask.  _I'm only a freshman,_ Blaine couldn't help but think. _I'm not any good, certainly not any better than any of the upperclassmen._

Kurt bit his lip. "Because you're the best singer in the group. Your ear for harmonies is… it's amazing, Blaine."

Blaine could feel his cheeks heat up. "Oh, I'm nothing special."

Kurt put his hand on Blaine's shoulder. "You are. Now, are you going to help me or not?" Kurt teased, but he looked a little nervous, like he wasn't sure if Blaine would agree.

"I'll do my best," Blaine finally offered. "What part were you looking at?"

Kurt pointed to the last page of the music, where the last verse started. "I told Adam that I didn't think the harmonies he created worked for this last bit, but he won't listen. I was thinking maybe you'd have a good idea of how to fix it?"

"Oh thank god, I thought I was the only one who hated the arrangement," Blaine exclaimed. He showed Kurt his own sheet music where he'd adjusted the notes on the ends of the phrases up a few notes so that it changed up the flow of the verse to a much different ending. "I was just messing around with this the other day," Blaine explained as Kurt looked through the rest of the music.

"Wow, you changed up the entire last half of the song," Kurt said, running his hands over the pencil marks on the paper. "Could we try it out?"

"Sure," Blaine said, feeling his body break out in a sweat at the thought of getting to sing alone with Kurt. "Umm, please be kind, though, if it doesn't really work. I'm not actually a composer."

"I'm sure it'll be great," Kurt said with a reassuring smile. "Would you mind if I recorded it so that we could listen back?"

"Oh, sure," Blaine said. "I could…" Blaine hesitated, taking a deep breath before continuing, "I could play the piano, too."

"You, sir, are a man of many talents," Kurt said, following Blaine over to the piano. They sat down together and Kurt set up his phone so that he could record it.

Blaine ran a few scales on the piano while they both warmed up their voices before they finally were ready to start.

They ran through the song, stopping every so often to work out the new harmonies that Blaine had come up with, finally having done it enough to do a full run through.

" _Let it snow, I'll keep you warm tonight_

_It's not just the gifts under my tree_

_The best things in life are totally free_

_And waiting for me is Christmas Eve with you."_

They let their voices trail off into silence, smiling brightly at each other.

"We sound really good together," Blaine said, chest rising and falling as the excitement of the duet faded.

"We really do. Your arrangement is breathtaking, Blaine." Kurt bit his lip, looking up above them and grinning even brighter at Blaine. "Now, who could have possibly put  _that_  up there?" he asked with an impish grin.

Blaine, confused, looked up above them, feeling his cheeks heat when he saw a sprig of mistletoe hanging directly above them. "Oh," he said, unable to come up with anything else. He looked back at Kurt, unable to stop himself from glancing down at his lips.

"May I?" Kurt asked, leaning forward as if he couldn't stop himself.

"Please," Blaine responded, leaning forward the rest of the way to kiss Kurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based loosely on the prompt: "Person A is seducing Person B into taking a few steps back against a wall ("Oh, look. How did that mistletoe get right there?")"
> 
> I may be the only one who actually liked "Christmas Eve With You", but I thought it'd be perfect for them to sing for this.


	12. Moon

 

The day had been full of a tension that neither Kurt nor Blaine mentioned. After Burt had surprised Kurt with Blaine at the ice rink, Kurt had felt like a sudden breeze could knock him over, so shocked with his appearance.

After that, they'd returned to Kurt's apartment and had sat on the couch together while Blaine and Burt watched a game and Kurt pretended to read a magazine, all the while trying to figure out the emotions swirling through his mind. After that, they'd sat down to a meal, talking to Burt, but not really speaking to each other.

Kurt had jumped when Blaine's foot had brushed his ankle under the table. Blaine had looked sincerely apologetic, pulling his foot back under his own chair, but Kurt hadn't been actually all that upset that it had happened in the first place.

After that, Burt had retired to bed, saying that it had been a long day. Kurt and Blaine bid him goodnight and then stood there just staring at each other. "I'm sorry if I'm overstepping here, Kurt," Blaine finally said. "I almost turned him down when he asked, but you know how persuasive your dad can be."

Kurt smiled a little. "Yes, I do. And you're not overstepping. It was… it's good to see you again."

"Yeah?"

Kurt nodded. "It still really hurts and I haven't forgiven you, but… I missed you."

"I missed you, too. You have no idea how much."

Kurt bit his lip. "This is just all really weird for me. Having you here, it being Christmas..."

"I know what you mean."

Kurt sighed, looking around his apartment. "I'm way too keyed up to sleep. Would you maybe like to go on a walk with me? I could show you the light show down the road."

"Sure."

* * *

 

They bundled themselves up in their coats and gloves and scarves and ventured outside. Blaine smiled in thanks when Kurt held the door open for him and had to stop himself from taking Kurt's hand as they started walking down the sidewalk, a habit he'd never hoped to grow out of.

They were silent for the first part of the walk, looking around at the lights around them, the bright light of the moon above them casting everything in a glow.

Kurt stopped them at a rather large Christmas tree that was standing at the end of one of the roads, a hodgepodge of lights covering it. "It's Bushwick's version of the tree in Rockefeller," Kurt explained, looking up at it with Blaine. "It's not nearly as tall or elegantly decorated, but I love it."

"It's unique," Blaine offered, smiling when Kurt laughed. "Thank you for showing it to me."

"You're welcome." They both looked at the tree for a little while longer until Blaine felt a shiver rack his body. "Are you cold?"

Blaine shook his head. "I can handle it for a little longer."

"Okay." Kurt nodded down the road. "There's a few more places I can show you before we head back." He directed them down a side street, pointing out a few of his favorite shops. Kurt stopped them again outside a fabric shop that sat at the end of what looked like a quite decrepit alley. "This is probably my favorite place in the entire neighborhood. They have the best deals."

Blaine nodded, looking up at the wreath that hung on the front of the door. "What ever made you come down this street? It's rather…"

"Scary looking? I'm not sure exactly, but I'm glad I did." Kurt turned to face Blaine. "There's a lot of things that I do that I'm not sure why."

Blaine felt his forehead scrunch in confusion. "Kurt?"

Kurt didn't respond, eyes falling with sadness, hands coming up to grip the edges of Blaine's scarf and suddenly Kurt was kissing him.

Confused, but scared to question it, Blaine parted his lips and returned Kurt's kiss, hands coming up to cup Kurt's neck and pull him closer. After a few moments, Kurt pulled away, resting his forehead against Blaine's, hot breath brushing against his lips. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Blaine begged. "I'm not."

Kurt sighed, leaning forward again and kissing him even deeper, hands clenching in the fabric of Blaine's coat and pulling him impossibly closer. Blaine whimpered into the kiss, turning his face so that he could press his lips even tighter to Kurt's. He never wanted the kiss to end, but then Kurt was pulling away once more, actually stepping away this time.

Kurt pushed shaking hands through his own hair, looking anywhere but Blaine. "That was… I shouldn't have done that." Kurt frowned. "I'm still angry with you, Blaine."

Blaine swallowed, feeling tears pool in his yes. "I know. I want to fix this, Kurt."

"You can't," Kurt said, a few tears tracking down his face, turning away from Blaine and walking back towards the apartment. Blaine took a few seconds to try and compose himself, trying desperately not to start crying for real. Once he'd allowed himself some time, he chased after Kurt, staying a few steps back so that he didn't have to see Kurt's face, but he only had to look at the shaking of Kurt's shoulders to know that he was still crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt: "Pulling you in for a kiss with a scarf."


	13. Number

 

Blaine was bored. He'd been messing with his new phone for a while now, trying to make the settings just right. The volume and tones of the notifications had to be just right, and the apps had to be in the right order and programmed correctly. He was just adding pictures to his contacts when the phone rang. Blaine didn't recognize the number.

Blaine hesitated in answering it. He'd gotten this number from the phone company, so there was always the chance that the phone's previous owner hadn't told everyone of the number change and some random person was contacting Blaine thinking he was someone else. Did Blaine really want to deal with this now?

Blaine looked at the screen for a few seconds, debating, before he finally answered it. "Hello?"

"Oh my god, you answered, thank you!" the person on the other end exclaimed, sounding breathless.

"Yes? May I ask who this is?"

"I'm Kurt. Oh my god, there's this snowstorm and my car stopped and my stupid new phone doesn't have any numbers in it and all I could remember was my old number and you apparently have it and you answered and I just really don't want to be alone right now and oh my god the battery is almost dead and I only have one bar of signal," Kurt said all in one breath, sounding like he was borderline hysterical.

"Ummm, okay. I think I caught most of that. Where are you right now?"

He heard Kurt sniffle on the other end of the line. "I'm on Old Market between 12th and 14th streets."

"That's not too far," Blaine said, calculating how long it would take for him to get there. "I could probably be there in ten minutes?"

"I couldn't possibly ask you to drive here. I just need you to call a tow truck or something."

"They'll take way too long to get to you. You're stuck in a snowstorm, Kurt and I have the means to come get you."

"You don't even know who I am," Kurt said, still breathing heavily.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to trust that you are who you say you are," Blaine said, more determined than ever to rescue this poor man. "It'll take a little bit to get there, so maybe you could tell me more about yourself?"

"I guess it is the least I could do," Kurt said with a small laugh. "I'm 19 and I'm home for the holidays…or at least, I'm  _trying_  to be home but it's not working too well. I really should have just stayed in New York."

"You live in New York?" Blaine asked. "I've been applying to colleges out there, but I haven't heard back from any yet."

"It's a magical place," Kurt replied. "What are you wanting to major in?"

"Musical education," Blaine said, finally getting out the door and into his own car. "What about you?"

"I'm at NYADA for Musical Theater."

"Oh, wow. That's so cool."

"It's really hard. I was glad to have some time off from school."

Blaine continued his conversation with Kurt, going from topic to topic, until Blaine was finally near where Kurt's car was stopped. He was just about to ask Kurt more about his location when he spotted a car with its hazards on the side of the road. "Kurt, I think I see you."

"Yeah?"

Blaine carefully pulled off the side of the road and put his own hazards on. He looked as Kurt's car turned off and the door opened. He watched as Kurt got out of the car and ran over to his own. Blaine unlocked the door, feeling his heart go crazy as the most gorgeous guy in the entirety of Blaine life got into his car. "Kurt?"

Kurt nodded, reaching over and hugging Blaine. "And you're my savior," he breathed against Blaine's neck. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Blaine squeaked out, awkwardly returning Kurt's hug. When Kurt pulled back, Blaine knew his cheeks must be bright red with a blush. "Where can I take you?"

Kurt recited the address of what must be his parent's house. "You really have no idea how thankful I am that you did this. There's not many people who would offer to come pick up some random stranger from the side of the road."

"Yeah, well. It's Christmas." Blaine started the car up and started driving towards the address Kurt had given him. It was surprising how easily they fell back into their conversation, exchanging stories and more information about themselves. By the time they arrived at the house, Blaine felt he knew Kurt better than even his own friends.

Blaine, ever the gentleman, walked Kurt to his door. The man who opened the door looked surprised to see Blaine, but he ushered him inside all the same. When he heard the story of Blaine's gallant rescue, he made him stay for dinner and games. When the night came to an end and the storm had finally abated, Blaine bundled up to head back home. Kurt followed him to the door and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, offering a "for my hero" and a bright smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt: "There's a storm and OMG I'm losing signal. Are you okay? Hold on; let me drive 489432 miles to get you the night before Christmas."


	14. Ocean

 

Blaine was really regretting listening to Sam.  _Come with me to my family's cottage on the Atlantic Ocean, Blaine. We'll have so much fun, Blaine. Nothing bad will happen, Blaine. There's no way you'll end up in the hospital with a shattered femur and ulna, Blaine._ Okay, so maybe Sam hadn't said the last one, but here Blaine was laid up in the hospital after having surgery to repair his shattered right leg and arm. And where was Sam? He'd gone back out to the beach once Blaine had recovered, since Blaine had to be his stupid selfless self and tell him that he didn't need to stay.

Blaine tried to readjust himself on the bed and he whined as he leg twinged. Stupid Sam and his stupid jet ski and the stupid rock that he rammed his stupid body into with his stupid fragile bones. Blaine's fun holiday away had turned into a decidedly un-fun hospital stay.

His parents and brother couldn't even be bothered to come and stay with him. Their jobs were apparently more important than Blaine. Instead, Blaine had been left alone in this dreary white cube, with a very small assortment of months old magazines that Blaine had begrudgingly read through.

The doctor had been kind, checking on Blaine twice after surgery, the nurses coming in every other time to check on his morphine drip and his food for the day. Blaine ended up spending most of his stay sleeping, beyond bored.

Blaine was pulled out of his sleep on the second day by the sound of someone moving around his room. "Hello?" Blaine rasped out, smacking his dry mouth and blinking open his eyes.

The person who was in the room with him jumped in fright, whipping around to face him. "I didn't realize you were awake." The person, who Blaine now saw was a man, set down the object in his hands and walked over to Blaine. Kurt, Blaine saw the name on his name tag, grabbed a nearby pitcher and poured it into Blaine's glass. "I bet you're thirsty." He held up the straw to Blaine, which Blaine was thankful for, since his right arm was in a cast and his left had the fluid drip in it.

Blaine took several sips, smiling once he was done. "Thank you, Kurt."

Kurt looked shocked that Blaine knew his name, but when Blaine nodded towards Kurt's name tag, his eyes widened in recognition. "Oh yeah, I tend to forget about this. And you're welcome, by the way." Kurt set down the glass on the table next to Blaine's bed. "Can I get you anything else?"

Blaine shook his head. He finally managed to see what Kurt had apparently been doing while Blaine had been asleep. Where the room had been a bare white during Blaine's stay, it was now halfway decorated in red and green. It looked like Kurt had been in the process of decorating a small Christmas tree that now stood in the corner of his room. "Did you do all this?"

Kurt looked around at the decorations, cheeks turning a light pink. "Yeah."

"I know this is going to sound like I don't appreciate it, which is completely not true, but I'm still on meds and I can't make my brain work right, but why?"

Kurt bit his lip. "I don't think anyone should be alone for the holidays, especially in a hospital. I had some spare decorations from home," Kurt finished with a small shrug.

"It's really nice. Thank you, Kurt." Blaine smiled at him. "It really means a lot that you'd do this for me, especially when you don't even really know me."

"Oh, it was really nothing."

"It's not nothing, Kurt," Blaine said with a raised eyebrow. "You used your own decorations to make some random patient's room look nice."

"It's the least I could do. I mean, your friend couldn't even be bothered to come back to visit you…" Kurt trailed off, face draining of color. "Oh wow, that was really rude of me to say."

Blaine chuckled. "It's true, though. I know I told him that he didn't have to stay the whole time, but I didn't think he'd just not ever come back."

"If  _I_ were your friend, I wouldn't have left your side," Kurt admitted quietly, biting his lip.

"You probably also wouldn't have convinced me that using a jet ski was a good idea."

"True. I'm much more of an 'on-land' fun kind of person." Kurt pulled up a chair from the side of the room and sat down next to Blaine. "So, your doctor said you're going to be with us for one more day before they're going to discharge you."

"Thank god," Blaine said. "Not that you guys haven't been kind to me, but I'd love to actually be in my own bed."

"Where is your home?" Kurt asked, looking like the answer was going to be really important, but acting as blasé about it as he could.

"New York."

"Oh." Kurt said, smile falling before he forced it back onto his face. "That's got to be really nice. South Carolina gets really boring after a little while."

"You should come to New York sometime," Blaine said, smiling at Kurt. "I could show you around, maybe take you to a show?"

"I don't really get a lot of time off as a nurse, but, yeah, maybe."

"There are a lot of hospitals in New York. Just saying," Blaine said, biting his lip. "I'm a little high on my morphine, so I'm not sure how this is coming across. I'm trying to be charming."

"You are very charming," Kurt admitted, reaching out his hand and taking Blaine's good one as gently as he could. "Maybe we could do dinner before you go back to New York?"

"That sounds fun."

Kurt was about to respond when Blaine's doctor entered the room. Kurt hopped out of the chair, apologizing to the doctor before making his exit. Just as he was leaving, he turned back to face Blaine once more, waving before continuing out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based loosely on the prompt: "You're in the hospital for the holidays, so I came in while you were sleeping to decorate your room. I love you. Merry Christmas."


	15. Passion

"Passion: because your life deserves it." There was the sound of a spray and then "Cut!"

Kurt rushed forward, reaching out to rearrange the chair once more. The man in the chair stood up quickly. "Was that okay?" he asked, eyes bright with the need to please.

"It was pretty good," Kurt said, not really paying attention. This chair was not working for the shoot. It was too big and the color wasn't working for the warm red tone they were trying to go for. "Maybe this time, spray the cologne away from the camera? And drop your tone a little? We're going for sensual."

"Oh, right, right. I can do that." Blaine, the actor they'd hired for the commercial, fiddled with the bottle of cologne. "Thank you again for hiring me."

"I've told you before, Blaine.  _I_ didn't hire you. I'm just the DP."

"Right, sorry."

Kurt went to his little stand and pulled out a blanket, laying it carefully over the chair so that it covered the entire backing. "Perfect. Let's try this again." Kurt stepped away from the set and back behind the camera.

He watched as Blaine got back onto his mark and schooled his expression in an, admittedly, sexy one. There was a reason Blaine had been picked for this campaign. Kurt did his best to watch with a critical eye, but Blaine doing some serious eye fucking through the lens and Kurt could feel himself get hot under the collar.

Blaine sprayed the cologne right on cue, but as he took a breath to say his next line, Kurt saw that Blaine seemed to be struggling. Blaine looked like he was trying to cough under his breath and his hands were shaking. When he opened his mouth to speak, his voice was raspy and he sounded pained.

"Cut!" Kurt walked over to Blaine and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Blaine coughed three times and gave a feeble smile. "Yeah, I just breathed it in."

"Why don't you take five and we'll get back to it once you've cleared you lungs?" Kurt nodded to the door behind him.

Blaine smiled his thanks and handed Kurt the bottle of cologne, walking slowly out of the warehouse as he continued to cough. Kurt took a look again at the set, feeling like something was still off.

Kurt was just twisting off the light stand when Blaine re-entered the warehouse. "Sorry, guys. I'll make sure to spray away this time!" Blaine said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Kurt reached out and mussed the front of Blaine's hair up to perfection and once again went behind the camera. This take, Blaine seemed slightly off, as if he were still affected by his previous coughing fit. It was as if Blaine was afraid to take too deep of a breath and his eyes were super focused on the cologne bottle when he sprayed it. "Reset!" the director called, sounding frustrated. "That was horrific – fix it!"

Blaine looked embarrassed, but he schooled his expression and went back to his first mark. This time around, Blaine's performance was even more pained and the shaking of his hands was more pronounced. Blaine's last line was interrupted by a hacking cough.

"Cut!"

" _Fuck_ ," Blaine whispered under his breath, coughing into his elbow.

Kurt sighed and walked back over to Blaine. "What is going on?" Kurt hissed. "You're going to get yourself fired."

Blaine's eyes widened. "Oh, god. I'm so sorry! I…" he trailed off and looked at the irate director behind him. "I have this scent allergy that's acting up."

Kurt raised his eyebrow. "What in the hell made you audition for a cologne commercial when you're allergic to scents? Seems pretty common sense to avoid shoots like this."

Blaine blushed. "Yeah, I know, but this is a great opportunity. I thought I could make it work."

"Obviously not," Kurt responded with a dry humor.

"You're not going to fire me, are you?"

Kurt chuckled. "As I've said, I didn't hire you, so I won't be firing you." Kurt looked back at the director, who was fuming in his chair. "He's pretty pissed, though. Every minute is costing more money."

"Shit," Blaine said, dropping his head. "I can't figure out a way to fix this."

Kurt narrowed his eyes in thought. "I might have an idea. Hold on just a second." Kurt grabbed the cologne bottle and unscrewed it, pouring it carefully into a bottle on the table near them. He grabbed a pitcher of water and quickly refilled the bottle. "This should work."

"Thank you," Blaine said, taking the bottle back from him and going back to his mark. "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Crane. I promise this take will be the best yet."

"You'd better be right, or your ass is out."

Blaine took a deep breath, seeming to actually be able to get air into his lungs. He got through the take with surprising ease, the sex pouring off of him in waves, so much so that Kurt could feel it start to affect his body.

Once the director called a final cut with a small smile on his face, Blaine walked over to Kurt with a surprisingly shy smile on his face. "You saved my job," Blaine said, looking up at him through his eyelashes. "Can I take you to dinner to repay the favor?"

"Sure," Kurt said, feeling a wide smile take over his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a scent allergy and it's horrible. I feel like my throat closes up every time I breathe in or even just smell a strong scent.


	16. Question

Throughout the years of their marriage, Kurt and Blaine try different things to keep it all fresh. There were days they could only speak in song titles, and another they had to communicate in only charades, but Kurt's favorite was always the 'questions only' day.

Kurt rummaged around the different cabinets in the kitchen, even pulling open a few drawers. "Where did you put the dishes, Blaine?" he called out toward the living room.

"Where do I usually put them?" Blaine responded without hesitation, barely looking up at him over his book.

"The cabinet?" Kurt responded, huffing. "They aren't in the cabinet… are they?" he quickly added on, looking to Blaine to see if he'd spotted his flub. He did, but he didn't say anything; he only raised his eyebrow. Apparently he was going to allow it.

"So they're not in the cabinet?" Blaine asked, setting down his book and looking at Kurt.

"Why would I be asking if they were?" Kurt responded, tapping his foot against the tile.

"I don't know." Blaine responded, smile falling when he realized that he hadn't asked a question. "Fiddlesticks," Blaine whispered.

Kurt squealed. "Guess who's doing dishes tonight?"

Blaine glared at Kurt. "Me?"

Kurt laughed, reaching out and patting Blaine on the cheek. "Well, aren't you the smart one?" Kurt pressed a kiss against Blaine's pouting mouth, pulling away with a loud smack. "Time out?"

Blaine nodded. On their game days, they tended to take time outs after one of them made a mistake so that they could go about their lives normally for a little while. "Thank god," Blaine said, letting his shoulder's sag. "Too much thought required. I need more coffee before we try this again." Blaine shuffled over to the kitchen and started up their French Press. He rubbed his hand over his face, yawning. "We really started this too early. We should have a 'no games before coffee' rule."

Once Blaine had his cup of coffee and was sitting at the table about to dig into his pancake, Kurt offered, "What if we switch to the alphabet game? Would that be easier for you?"

Blaine paused with his fork halfway to his mouth and frowned. "I don't need an easier game, thank you very much. I only got messed up today because I wasn't ready."

Kurt smiled. "You should have been ready. You've known we were having 'question day' for two days now. Maybe you'll learn to prepare like me."

"Maybe I like messing around with improv a little. Keeps my acting fresh."

"Uh huh, sure. Whatever makes you feel better, dear."

Blaine scooped up some syrup with a spoon and pressed his pointer finger against it, aiming it right at Kurt's face. "If you keep making fun of me, you're going to get syrup in your freshly washed hair."

Kurt's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I could and I would…  _dear_."

"If you do, it'll just be more clean up duty for you… and not the fun kind," Kurt was quick to add. "I'm going to keep beating you today and you'll just keep racking up the chores."

"As I said, you only caught me off guard. This time around I'm going to win." Blaine set down his spoon anyway and went back to eating. "I always win when we play this in my improv group."

"That's because I'm not there."

Blaine took a large sip of his coffee and glared at Kurt. "Time in?"

"Why not?" Kurt responded, smirking. "What chore do you think you should do after dish duty?"

"Why should I care if  _you're_  the one who's going to be doing it?"

"You really think you'll beat me?"

"Do you really even need to ask?"

"It's 'questions day', isn't it? What else would I do?"

"Why not just forfeit?" Blaine asked with a small smile.

"Why would I ever do that?"

"Wouldn't admitting defeat be better than just dragging this out?"

Kurt laughed. "Why won't you just accept that I'm better at this than you?"

"Because you win everything, Kurt!" Blaine finally said, dropping his head down onto his hands with a whine. "I give up!"

Blaine felt Kurt place his hand on his shoulder. "So, vacuuming or dusting?"

Blaine didn't even bother responding, just whimpering pitifully.


	17. Regret

Kurt was wrapping up his Christmas gifts when he found it – the watch for Blaine. Kurt fell hard onto his ass and cradled it to his chest, tears pouring down his cheeks, all the old memories and pain from their nasty break up coming to the surface.

He'd really thought he and Blaine were forever, but they had that stupid fight and Kurt said those hateful things and walked out, never to see Blaine again. He'd had so many moments between then and now that he'd wanted to go back to Blaine and apologize for it all, but Kurt was nothing if not stubborn, determined to wait for Blaine to come back to him. It was obvious now that that was never going to happen. They'd been broken up for several months now and Kurt couldn't help the regret he felt pooling in his belly.

Kurt looked down at the watch again. It was a really nice watch, exactly what Blaine would love… would have loved, and there were no refunds allowed at the store he'd bought it from. Kurt took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his face. There was really only one thing to do.

* * *

 

It was insanely cold out, so as Kurt stood at the door, he felt his core body temperature drop at least 10 degrees. It had been a minute since he'd rung the doorbell and he couldn't hear anything from inside, even if all the lights seemed to be on. Maybe Blaine wasn't actually at home…or maybe he was, but he was with someone?

Kurt shook his head; it wouldn't do to start making assumptions. That was what had been part of their problems before. He was just about to ring the doorbell again when the door finally opened and Blaine himself stood in the doorway.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah. I, um…"

"Come in," Blaine offered, seeing Kurt shivering.

Kurt hesitated and then stepped inside, smiling gratefully at Blaine. He had almost wondered if Blaine would just shut the door in his face, so he was happy that he'd actually been let inside. "I'm sorry to just show up like this," Kurt started, turning to look at Blaine. "I should have called or…"

"I probably wouldn't have answered," Blaine said with a sad smile. "I'm actually-" he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Kurt was flabbergasted to see Sebastian rounding the corner.

"Kurt Hummel?" Sebastian asked, looking him up and down.

"Yes," Kurt bit back, feeling anger well up inside of him, even as he felt his heart break a little. Was Blaine dating Sebastian? Had he really moved on so quickly?

"Sebastian, don't," Blaine warned, placing a hand on his shoulder. Blaine looked back up at Kurt. "Can you give Kurt and me some time to talk? Please?"

Sebastian frowned, but he did turn to go back up the stairs.

"So, what's that all about?" Kurt asked, unable to keep the hurt from his voice.

"Not that you have any right to know, not with the way you hurt me, but it's not what it looks like. Bas and I are just friends. He knew I was going to be alone for Christmas so he got all the Warblers in the area together to have a makeshift party."

It was then that Kurt could hear other footsteps on the landing above them. "Oh."

"So, I'm actually busy. Why are you here?"

Kurt bit his lip and held out the present he'd held behind his back. "I got this before… before." Blaine looked down at it and took it after a moment's pause. "You can open it now, if you want."

Blaine seemed to be thinking about it, before he finally pulled aside the tissue paper and carefully pulled out the watch. Kurt watched as Blaine's eyes widened in amazement and he could swear there were tears in the corners. Blaine's smile was tentative, but large and he looked at Kurt, mouth opening and closing. "Kurt."

"I know. I know things are over between us, but I thought you'd still like to have this." Kurt put his hands behind his back, trying to hide their shaking.

Blaine set down the watch on a table near the door and reached out to pull Kurt into a tight hug, his face burrowing into Kurt's neck and tears fell upon Kurt's skin. "Thank you. This… this means a lot, Kurt."

Kurt raised his arms and put them around Blaine's back. "It's really nothing. It's no apology."

"It's a start," Blaine said, pulling back slightly. "Maybe after the holidays we could actually talk? I…I don't want things to be over."

Kurt felt hope swell in his chest. "Me either," he admitted, lip quivering slightly as he felt tears pool up in his eyes too. Kurt backed away from Blaine, stopping only when he bumped into the door.

Blaine's mouth was slightly raised with a smile. "Merry Christmas, Kurt."

"Merry Christmas."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt "We went through a really bad break up a month ago, but I already bought you a Christmas gift. it's too late to return it now and I know you'd really like it so I show up to your house on Christmas Eve and present the new watch I bought to replace your old one that's nearly falling apart and I swear I see tears in your eyes"
> 
> PS Sebastian isn't trying to win Blaine over, he's just being a friend, FYI


	18. Shift

Kurt was going to do this right. Not only was it Christmas again, but it was their first anniversary after having gotten back together. Blaine deserved the world, the best, and Kurt was going to do that. As much as Kurt loved when Blaine would do public, insanely romantic gestures, Blaine liked private moments for his own moments. He loved when Kurt would do things for him that no one else knew about. He loved having things only the two of them knew about, things that were special because they hadn't been broadcast to all their family and friends. So, Kurt had been planning this for a long time and he was certain he'd worked it all out perfectly.

The engagement ring in its red box was balanced perfectly on the front of the tree, right under their 'First Christmas Together' ornament, and right in Blaine's eyeline. There's no way he could miss it. Blaine would grab it and when he turned around, Kurt would be on his knee and he'd say his little speech and then they'd finally be engaged.

That was all before everything went wrong. Kurt had been adjusting the presents under the tree one last time when it happened. Kurt had bumped into the bottom branch and the box had shifted precariously before finally falling down into the middle of the tree. He had started searching for it frantically when Blaine had walked in the door and Kurt could just cry.

"Honey, I'm home!" Blaine sing-songed, closing the door behind him.

Kurt forced a smile to his face, even if his stomach was in knots. "Welcome home, honey." Kurt stood up and kissed Blaine softly. "Merry Christmas."

Blaine kissed him once more, a beaming smile on his face. "Merry Christmas." Blaine looked at the tree behind Kurt and his eyes widened. "What happened here? It looks like a bomb went off."

Kurt blanched. "Umm, one of the ornaments fell off and I went searching for it."

"Ah," Blaine said, nodding. "I hate when that happens. Why don't we open our presents and see if we find it?"

Kurt couldn't keep the smile from his face. "This isn't just your way of getting to open your presents early, is it?"

"It  _is_  Christmas, Kurt," Blaine said with a laugh.

"Yeah, but it's barely past midnight, so shouldn't we sleep first?"

Blaine pouted. "Please?"

"Okay, fine." Kurt was still insanely upset that his plan had fallen to pieces, but Blaine's excitement was infectious.

They set themselves next to the tree and carefully passed out the presents. Kurt kept an eye out for the ring box but it was nowhere to be found. He really hoped it hadn't fallen into the tree stand.

They went through their presents one by one, smiling and thanking each other. It was only when Kurt least expected it that the ring box made its presence know.

"Umm, Kurt?" Blaine asked, reaching into the bag that was supposed to have Blaine's AUX cord for his keyboard and pulling out the ring box instead.

Kurt gasped, watching with wide eyes as Blaine opened up the box. Kurt scrambled to his knees, tripping in the paper at his feet and nearly face-planting into Blaine's lap. "I planned this so much differently," Kurt explained when Blaine looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "You were supposed to find it in the tree and then I'd be kneeling behind you and I'd say this speech I've been planning for a month now and you'd say yes and then we'd be fiancés-"

Kurt stopped speaking when Blaine started giggling wetly, tears pouring down his cheeks. "Oh my god," Blaine whispered, looking back down at the ring. "So I know you haven't actually asked, but I'm saying yes," Blaine said holding the ring box up to Kurt. "Can you put it on me?"

Kurt nodded frantically, taking the box and pulling the ring out, doing his best to slide it on Blaine's finger without too much shaking. "Just so you know, we're going to come up with a much better story to tell everyone about this," Kurt said with a small chuckle, pressing a kiss to Blaine's finger and looking up at him.

Blaine shook his head. "This is perfect, Kurt. It's something that only we can say. No one else has a story like ours. It's perfect." Blaine leaned forward and pulled Kurt into a kiss. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Blaine."

And when they went to told everyone how Kurt proposed, there wasn't a dry eye or laughless response to be found. Kurt came to love hearing Blaine tell the story. It may not have been the most suave gesture, but it was theirs and theirs alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt "I'm so fucking stressed because it took me twenty minutes to balance the engagement ring box on the tree branches and then when you finally wake up, it fell and now it's fucking lost and both of us are just really confused when I open my gift bag of new boxers from my mom and there's an engagement ring in it"


	19. Time

The holiday party was going swimmingly, if Kurt said so himself. Everyone had arrived a half hour after seven and they'd all actually brought something, either dessert or side. Kurt had provided the drinks, quite proud of his homemade eggnog.

Everyone was mingling well. He'd invited floormates and coworkers and old friends, and they all seemed to be intermingling and having a really good time.

One of Kurt's neighbors, Blaine, was even able to attend. Ever since Kurt moved in, he had been trying to ask Blaine out, but he'd always chickened out. At this point, they'd only exchanged pleasantries and smiles as they passed in the hallways.

As Kurt went to take a sip of his new glass of eggnog, he frowned. There was a lot more rum in this than he'd originally mixed. He frowned at Puck, who had clearly snuck another bottle of rum in and messed with his drink. Kurt shrugged. He may as well still enjoy the drink, just the one.

Kurt shuddered as he took a sip, looking around at all the people around him. Santana and Kurt's bandmate, Dani seemed to be hitting it off, while Puck was hitting on a very uninterested Rachel. There were a couple of Kurt's neighbors that were chatting in the corner and Kurt's old Glee club were dancing by the radio.

Speaking of which…

"The hell?" Kurt heard Santana ask and Kurt followed her gaze, feeling his face flush when he saw what she was looking at. Blaine was standing on the coffee table at the front of the room, his cheeks bright red and his eyes glassy. He was swaying to the beat of the song playing on the radio, clearly drunk on too much of Puck's eggnog mixture.

" _Think of all the fun I've missed_ _,_ " Blaine crooned. " _Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed,_ " he teased, reaching for the hem of his sweater and wiggling it along with his eyebrows, a salacious smirk on his face.

Was this really happening? Was Blaine really doing a strip tease at Kurt's Christmas party? Kurt could feel himself get hot under the collar.

" _Next year I could be just as good if you check off my Christmas list_ ," Blaine continued, finally lifting the sweater over his chest, getting it stuck around his head. Suddenly, there came the sound of giggling from the lump of sweater over Blaine's head and his body swayed precariously on the table. "Santa, I think I'm stuck," Blaine said amidst giggles.

Kurt stood up, going over to Blaine, terrified that he'd fall off the table and seriously injure himself. "Blaine, stop wiggling," Kurt said, reaching up and steadying him as best he could.

"Santa?" Blaine asked, voice muffled by the sweater.

"Kurt, actually. Now, if you can step over here, I'll get you off the table and we'll work on that sweater next." Kurt helped Blaine as best he could, breathing out a sigh of relief when Blaine was safely on the floor. Kurt pulled at the different parts of the sweater until he managed to find an end. He pulled it back down over Blaine's chest until he was covered up again.

"Oh, hello," Blaine said, looking at Kurt with wide eyes. "You found me."

"Yeah?" Kurt said, feeling his heart twist in his chest.

Blaine nodded. "I was stuck and you saved me." Blaine leaned forward and wrapped Kurt in a hug. "Thank you."

"Umm, you're welcome," Kurt responded, patting Blaine's back awkwardly. "Can I ask why you were stripping?"

Blaine's body froze and he pulled back to look at Kurt with a confused expression. "Stripping? I wasn't… I was performing," he said, sounding completely serious.

Kurt bit his lip. "Do your performances always involve taking your clothes off?"

Blaine tilted his head, looking up at the ceiling as if he were seriously contemplating it. "I don't think so, but my memory's kind of foggy right now."

"Well, for right now, let's keep your clothes on, okay? And I think it's about time we got you a glass of water."

"That'd be great. I was getting really thirsty. Maybe another glass of eggnog, too?"

"Oh no, no more eggnog for you, mister." Kurt said, steering him towards the kitchen.

Blaine pouted, but he didn't argue. As he watched Kurt fill the glass with water, his mouth gradually widened with a smile. "Did you like my song?"

"What?" Kurt asked, glancing up at Blaine before looking back at the glass, cursing the blush on his cheeks.

"The song. Did you like it? I was singing for you." Blaine smiled, stepping closer to Kurt. "Remember the fellas I haven't kissed?"

"Vaguely," Kurt said, feeling embarrassed at the breathy quality of his voice.

Blaine sidled up to him and looked up at him through his eyelashes. "Maybe you could help me change that?"

Kurt felt a giggle rise up in his chest that he barely swallowed down. "Maybe when you're sober. I'm not feeling it when you smell like a bar, to be honest."

"Rain check." Blaine said with a nod. "I can deal with that." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, unlocking the screen.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked.

"Adding in a reminder," Blaine said, tongue sticking a little out of his mouth with the effort. "There, now it's official," he said, holding up his phone to show Kurt the calendar event he'd added in for tomorrow ' _remember to kiss Kurt – IMPORTANT_ '.

Kurt bit his lip, tempted to just forget about the Blaine being drunk thing and just plant one on him, but really it would be better once they were both completely sober. Kurt took a deep breath and smiled at Blaine. "Can't wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt: "you've had too much eggnog and rum and now you're drunk and doing a strip tease for everyone at this Christmas party, it isn't sexy in the slightest because you're giggling and your sweater is caught over your head but I'm still falling in love with you"


	20. Underneath

Kurt never thought he'd pick up a guy at a Sears on Black Friday. He also never thought the guy he'd pick up would be buried under a pile of loofahs.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Kurt cried out, pushing his cart to the shelf nearest him and rushing over to the person covered in what looked to be the entire contents of the shelves above him. He knelt down and started carefully pulling random bathroom accessories off of the poor man lying underneath it all.

"Ow," the man groaned, slowly getting revealed as Kurt pulled more objects off of him. "Thanks," he finally said when his face was revealed.

And what a handsome face it was. Classically handsome, even if there was a small bruise forming on his forehead and his hair, which Kurt assumed had been meticulously brushed away from his forehead, was sticking up. "Hello," Kurt said, smiling down at the man. "How are you feeling?"

"My head really hurts."

"Okay, umm, so, do you know what date is it? Do you know where you are?"

The man chuckled, clearing catching on that Kurt was testing him. "I'm Blaine Anderson, and I'm laying on the floor of Sears on Black Friday."

Kurt smiled. "Well, Blaine Anderson, I'm Kurt Hummel and I'm now certain you haven't had any major memory loss with the lump on your head."

Blaine returned Kurt's smile, reaching up to feel for the lump. "Wow, that's going to be big," he said, tentatively touching it.

"Do you think you can sit up?" Kurt asked.

"I can try."

Kurt helped him sit up, placing a hand against Blaine's back and helping him stay upright. "There we go." Once he was certain Blaine was steady, Kurt looked around at the objects that were sitting in Blaine's basket. "Can I ask why you've ventured out on Black Friday and all you're buying are towels and bath mats?"

Blaine snorted and glanced down at the purchases. "Because my roommate flooded the bathroom. I thought everyone would be done Black Friday shopping by now."

"So how did the loofah avalanche get you?" Kurt asked, reaching down and doing his best to put all the objects back on the shelf.

Blaine's cheeks colored and nodded to the top shelf where they originally were. "I was trying to pull the towel off the top shelf and caught the loofahs on it."

Kurt placed the last one on the shelf and turned to face Blaine again. "Can I help you get anything from the shelf?"

Blaine smiled. "The green towel there?"

Kurt nodded and pulled it carefully off the shelf, handing it to Blaine for him to put it in his basket. "Anything else?"

Blaine shook his head, wincing as he did so. "I think I'm just going to buy this and head home."

"Maybe you should go see a doctor and make sure you didn't get a concussion," Kurt said, following Blaine as he started walking towards the front of the store.

"I think I'll be fine."

"But still. Don't they say that you shouldn't sleep longer than two hours after a head injury?"

Blaine shrugged. "No clue."

"Do you have anyone to wake you up?" Kurt asked, feeling genuinely concerned for this man he'd just met.

"Not really. Like I said, Kurt, I'm sure I'll be fine."

Kurt bit his lip. "Maybe you could give me your number? I'd feel better if I knew that you were okay."

Blaine turned to face Kurt with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not just trying to get my number?" he teased.

Kurt flushed. "I won't lie and say I wasn't tempted, but this does also come from a place of concern. That lump on your head looks wicked."

Blaine felt it again, crying out when he pressed too hard. "Maybe you're right about the whole concussion thing." Blaine looked at Kurt for a moment before pulling out his phone and handing it to him.

After Kurt entered his number and sent off a quick text to himself, he watched as Blaine walked to the cashier, waiting until he was being helped before returning to his purchases. An hour later, once all of his own shopping was done, his phone buzzed with a text.

He laughed aloud when he opened it; it was a picture of Blaine all curled up in bed with a grin on his face.

_I'm home safe and sound, thanks to you. ~ Blaine_

_I was happy to help. ~Kurt_

_I'd like to thank you somehow. Dinner next week? ~Blaine_

Kurt squealed, flailing a little before he composed himself and put his fingers to the keyboard.

_I'd love that. ~Kurt_

_Thank you for taking care of me. ~Blaine_

_You're most welcome. ~Kurt_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based loosely on the prompt: "it's black friday and you're laying on the ground and i'm not sure if you're breathing? are you okay? i'm just gonna. buy what you have and take you to my place so you can recover without getting trampled (bonus: everything you're buying is really bizarre like why are you buying loofahs on black friday?)"


	21. Vow

**A continuation of[Chapter 19: Time](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5339012/chapters/12657089)**

* * *

The next day couldn't have been any more different for Kurt. The party had gone smashingly and he might just get a kiss out of it, if Blaine remembered and stuck with the rain check they'd agreed on.

Kurt spent the morning cleaning up his apartment. That was the thing about parties: no one ever stuck around to help afterwards. Kurt didn't mind terribly today, though. It gave him an excuse to stick around his apartment for Blaine.

As the hours went on, Kurt's hope started trickling away. Maybe Blaine never really meant it. They said that people were their most honest when they were drunk, but maybe that didn't apply to Blaine. I mean, really, why would a guy like him want someone like Kurt?

Once it started getting dark out, Kurt gave up. Really, if he wanted to, Blaine would have come to him already. Kurt was going stir-crazy; some air would do him good.

Kurt started out wandering aimlessly, not really going anywhere specifically. It was only when he looked around and didn't recognize any of the buildings that Kurt got scared. Where the hell did he go? Taking as deep of a breath as he could, he pulled out his phone, meaning to pull up a map to find his way home.

"Crap," Kurt groaned, looking down at his completely dead phone. "Of course."

He felt his heart speed up again as he realized just how completely lost he was. He walked as quickly as he could, looking for something even remotely recognizable. As he continued walking, there were less and less people about, until finally Kurt was the only person on the entire street.

He had just found himself on a dead end when he heard it: footsteps behind him. Kurt whipped around, feeling his stomach drop to his feet when he saw a burly man behind him, a menacing looking knife in his hand.

Kurt backed away with his hands up in surrender. "Please, I just want to get home," Kurt begged.

"And I'd just like all your money," the man said in a mocking tone.

Kurt reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, chucking it towards the man. "Can I please leave now?"

The man picked up the wallet and then grinned evilly at Kurt. "Not quite yet."

Kurt debated screaming, but there hadn't been anyone else around. He tried to pull ideas from his stage fighting class, but it really didn't lend too much to self defense. He had just taken as deep a breath as he could for a scream when a shadow fell over him.

Quicker than Kurt could even blink, someone glided down into the alleyway and landed between Kurt and his mugger. "Drop the knife or I'll be forced to hurt you," the person threatened, voice filling the alleyway. When the mugger started jogging towards them with his knife raised, the man warned, "Cover your ears, Kurt," barely giving Kurt time to do so before a piercing screech filled the space around them.

The attacker fell to his knees, hands desperately trying to cover his ears before he slumped over. Kurt's protector rushed forward, using a rope he pulled from his back to tie the man up. Once he was secured, he turned back to face Kurt.

It was only as he got closer that Kurt could see who had saved him. It was a man in what looked to be a superhero's outfit. He had on a black body suit with blue and silver armor covering his torso. The cape behind him had a silvery glow, but Kurt couldn't see it too well in the dark. The man's face was covered on the top half with a black mask, obscuring his features. As Kurt tried to figure out why he felt like he knew him, he remembered that he'd known Kurt's name. Obviously Kurt had met him before?

"Are you okay?" the man asked.

"I think so… do I know you?" Kurt asked, trying as best he could to see him better.

The man dropped his head and scratched the back of his neck. "You could say that," he said, stepping closer to Kurt and placing his hands on Kurt's chin. "Maybe this will ring a bell?" The man leaned up and suddenly they were kissing.

"Wow," Kurt said once they'd pulled apart. "I think I'd remember a kiss like that."

The man snickered and Kurt could swear he was blushing. He pulled off his mask and even in the darkness, Kurt would recognize that face anywhere. "Blaine?"

"You saved me last night and I vowed to kiss you, Kurt."

"Vowed? Sounds so official."

"I'm Nightbird; I take my vows seriously," Blaine said, straightening up and putting his hands on his hips.

"Well, Nightbird, I don't think I can ever properly thank you for saving me tonight."

"Seeing you safe is thank you enough," Blaine said with a bright smile. "What were you doing way out here, if I may ask?"

"Honestly? I was a little miffed that you never showed up today, so I was taking a little walk to clear my head."

"Really?" Blaine asked. "God, Kurt, I'm so sorry. I had a wicked hangover this morning and I didn't even get the alert until dinner time. I always patrol when it gets dark, so I figured I'd missed my chance."

"Thankfully for us both, you showed up just in time." Kurt said, looping his arms over Blaine shoulder and kissing him again.


	22. Wish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of terminal illnesses, but no character deaths

 

Kurt refused to acknowledge that his son was dying. He'd been in denial every single time the doctor said the words 'terminal' when describing what was going on inside of Cameron. He was determined to make every day special, not as if it would be Cameron's last, but as if they'd never end. He wanted him to have the Best Day Ever for the next eighty years at least.

It was hard to deny his inevitably short life when the Make a Wish people approached him. He and Cameron had been flying a kite in the backyard when there was a knock on their front door. "Think you can handle this while I go see who's there, Cam?" Kurt asked, watching as his son confidently held the string to the kite.

"Absolutely," Cameron said, smiling widely at his dad.

Kurt hurried back inside and opened the front door. He felt his heart drop when he saw the embroidery on the shirts of the two people at his door. The woman and gentleman had been quick to explain that Kurt's father had nominated Cameron for a Wish and Cameron's doctor had okayed it all.

Kurt nodded, taking it all in quietly. The woman explained the details of Cameron's Wish and handed over the tickets and brochures. The man gave Kurt his information; he was going to be the one who was their guide throughout the Fulfillment.

When they left, Kurt closed the door quietly and fell back against it, letting the tears he'd been holding back fall hot and wet down his cheeks. Cameron had a terminal illness and Kurt had no idea when he'd lose him. Kurt let himself feel all the years of fear and sadness and it was overwhelming. Kurt had never felt more alone than in this moment, sobbing in his house while his son played outside.

* * *

Cameron had been ecstatic when he found out what his Wish was; Burt knew him so well. They'd had only a few days to plan and pack, and before they knew it, they were on their way to a studio across town. It was extremely convenient that Cameron's favorite show taped in the same city as they lived.

When they reached the studio, Tim, their guide, handed Cameron and Kurt their tickets. Cameron proudly marched up to the doorman and handed over his ticket. "I'm here to go behind the scenes on Dance and Play."

The doorman took Cameron's ticket. "Welcome, Cameron. We're excited to have you here."

Cameron beamed, waiting for Kurt to hand over his ticket, too, before they were both brought inside. Kurt watched as Cameron took everything in. His face held the expression of a person who had been gifted with the keys to a palace. His smile was so wide that it nearly encompassed his whole face and he was dancing around as if he couldn't hold in all his excitement.

They were introduced to Julie, one of the directors of the show, who gave them a guided tour of the set. Cameron had hundreds of questions for Julie, and they were all very intelligent ones. Julie looked impressed and she probably spent more time with them than planned because she looked happy to have someone so interested in it.

They were just returning to the front of the studio when someone else joined their party. He heard Cameron gasp, and when he turned to see who it was, Kurt nearly gasped himself. It was Blaine Anderson, creator and star of Dance and Play. And he was even more gorgeous in real life than he was on the screens.

When Cameron first discovered the show, Kurt had been intrigued, not just because of the concept, but because of the star. It had been a long time since Kurt had crushed on a celebrity, but it hit him hard and fast. So, while the educational part of the show with Blaine teaching songs to kids with choreographed dances was amazing to Kurt, it helped that he had someone gorgeous to look at every day.

So, to see his crush in person… Kurt was having trouble acting normally. Thankfully, Blaine seemed completely focused on Cameron. He'd squatted down and accepted Cameron's sudden hug. "Hey there, Cameron," Blaine said, rocking him back and forth. "I'm so glad you could join us today."

Cameron pulled back and stared up at Blaine. "Thank you for having me," he said.

Blaine smiled. "You're welcome." Blaine stood back up and clapped his hands. "What do you say we head on stage and have a little jam?"

Cameron bounced up and down, skipping after Blaine as they walked over to the piano. Blaine settled himself down on the bench and patted the space beside him. "Your grandpa told me that you learned how to play 'Reindeer Games'. Would you do me the honor of a duet?"

Cameron's eyes widened. "Really?"

Blaine nodded. They set their hands on the piano and soon, beautiful music filled the studio. Kurt stood to the side, feeling his heart swell up inside his chest. Cameron looked ecstatic, fingers flying over the piano. When they finished, Cameron turned to hug Blaine again. "You're amazing, Cameron," Blaine said, smiling brightly at him. "How about we do a dance?"

They both went up on the stage. "Can we do 'The Santa Samba'?"

Blaine smiled, nodding to the sound engineer to start up the track. "Are you sure you can keep up?" he teased.

Cameron smirked, hands on his hips. "Maybe it'll be _you_ that can't keep up."

Kurt laughed, slapping his hand over his mouth when they both looked over at him.

"Hey, Cameron. Maybe we should get your Dad to join us."

Kurt shook his head. "Oh no, I couldn't possibly-"

"Come on, Dad. Don't be such a party pooper."

Kurt sighed, walking over to them and joining them for the dancing. Their excitement was infectious and they ended the dance in laughter. It was only as he smiled down at Cameron that he noticed a red blinking light on the camera.

Blaine saw him looking and winked at him. "Julie's going to take you backstage to show you how we put everything together. Your Dad and I will join you in a second." Once Cameron had walked away, Blaine turned to face Kurt. "We thought it might be nice to have a recording of today to take home."

Kurt had to blink hard to hold back tears.

When Blaine noticed the tears, his face fell. "It's really the least we could do."

Kurt shook his head. "That's not why I'm crying. I just…Thank you for making this show. Cameron's been really sick for a while now and after his treatments, the only thing that could get him to smile was watching this show. You… you gave me my son back."

Blaine bit his lip, tears pooling in his eyes. "That's… I'm glad my little show could do some good. Cameron seems like a great kid."

"He is." Kurt wiped the tears from his face. "He's my world."

Blaine held out his arms. "You look like you could use a hug," he explained when Kurt just looked at him.

Kurt only hesitated a moment before he leaned forward into Blaine's embrace. It had been a long time since he'd found comfort in someone's arms other than his father's and his son's. Blaine's arms were strong and sure around him. They were interrupted by a throat clearing behind them. They turned to see Tim behind them. "The tour's just about done, gentlemen."

Kurt and Blaine smiled at each other once more before Kurt went to go collect Cameron. They was one more hug from Blaine before Kurt and Cameron were on their way.

On Christmas day, Kurt and Cameron curled up on the couch to watch their recording, Blaine at their side for a secret visit, the first of many. Because, miracle of miracles, Cameron started responding to treatment and Blaine was there every step of the way.


	23. Yesterday

Christmas caroling didn't go as well as Kurt hoped, but really, what did he expect? He'd had shoes thrown at him in High School when the Glee Club tried this, and apparently things hadn't changed much since then.

The first three doors he'd knocked on simply slammed the door in Kurt's face. The next door, he'd gotten (thankfully) cold coffee thrown at him. Luckily it only got on his scarf. He really should have given up at that point, but Kurt was stubborn and he was determined to find a home happy to hear his songs. Kurt started on a new landing, hoping for better success. The first door on the fourth floor revealed a snarling dog. Kurt's squeaked in fright and he took off for the stairwell, barely making it inside before it slammed against the door behind him. He skipped ahead to the fifth floor. He stupidly knocked on the stoners' door and was stuck there for ten minutes while they tried to sing along with him, the lyrics all wrong.

After all the failures, he returned to his own floor, looking at his neighbor's door before deciding. Kurt had barely seen his neighbor, (just yesterday, he'd discovered that his name was Blaine when Kurt had mistakenly gotten some of his mail) there had only been a few times they met in passing while the guy brushed past him, always in a hurry to get back inside his own apartment. He really seemed like the least cheerful person Kurt had ever met. This was bound to end in disaster, but it was worth a try.

Kurt knocked on the door, only having to wait a few seconds before it opened to reveal his neighbor surprisingly dressed in Christmas themed clothes. He had a Christmas tree bow tie on over a white button up. He had a reindeer sweater on over top and candy cane striped pants completed the look. Kurt had never realized just how breathtakingly handsome his neighbor was until his golden eyes fully met his.

"Hello," Blaine said, smiling brightly at Kurt. "Can I help you?"

Kurt swallowed deeply, brain suddenly blank. "Ummm, I'm caroling?" Kurt said, ending it as a question because he really was quite unsure if he could pull any songs out of the void that was his mind currently.

"Okay," Blaine said, biting his lip. "You sound really unsure though."

Kurt flushed. "I don't have to if you don't want me to."

"Oh, well, I'd love to hear a carol."

Kurt nodded. "Okay, well…" Kurt tried desperately to think of one. The strains of Winter Wonderland came from an apartment down the way and Kurt was extremely grateful. Kurt started up the first verse, feeling his heart flip when Blaine joined on the chorus, his voice like velvet, complimenting Kurt's perfectly. They ended the song after the next chorus, smiling at each other.

"Well, thank you…"

"Kurt," he said, biting his lip.

"Blaine," he responded. "Thank you, Kurt. If you'd like to join me, I'm making some hot chocolate and cookies. It's hardly adequate payment for your serenade, but…"

"I'd love to." Kurt followed Blaine inside. He looked around, amazed to see it looking like a true winter wonderland.

"I'd wanted to introduce myself earlier, but work has been nuts recently. I feel like I'm always on a deadline."

"I get that," Kurt said, realizing that Blaine had been busy, not really antisocial and rude like he'd guessed earlier. "When it's time to get the lines ready for Fashion Week, I can't even sleep without feeling like I'm wasting valuable working time."

"Fashion Week?" Blaine asked, looking amazed. "Do you work for a designer?"

"Vogue, actually. I'm in charge of documenting every aspect of the event."

"That's amazing, Kurt. Much more exciting than me working at my Dad's law firm." Blaine grimaced.

"Yeesh," Kurt said sympathetically. He accepted the seat Blaine offered him and the cup of steaming cocoa as he watched Blaine put the tray of cookies in the oven and set the timer.

Blaine sat down across from Kurt with a sigh. "I feel like this is the first time I've sat down all week."

"You have seemed preoccupied every time I see you."

Blaine cringed. "I have this feeling I came off like a right jerk. I apologize."

Kurt shook his head. "I get it now, no worries."

Blaine wiped a hand over his forehead. "Whew. I'd hate to have started this all off on the wrong foot."

They chatted for at least another hour, long enough for the oven to go off and for them to enjoy some freshly baked cookies. It was only when Kurt spotted the time that he realized how long they'd been talking. "Wow, it's four already?"

Blaine looked at the clock too, looking as shocked as Kurt. "Time flies, huh?"

Kurt nodded. "I've got dinner with the family tonight… maybe we can do this again sometime?"

Blaine beamed. "I'd love that." He walked Kurt to the door, pressing a small kiss to Kurt's cheek with a blush. "Merry Christmas, Kurt."

"Merry Christmas."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt: "Character A just wants to spread some holiday cheer, by caroling, but his neighbors have other plans. Ms. Johnson from apartment 3c threw coffee at Character A. The hipsters in 10f tried to rewrite the songs. And the tenants in 7a let their dogs loose on A. Not to mention the numerous door slams to the face. It's about to get worse, because the last apartment belongs to Character B, Character A's most antisocial neighbor. So forging ahead, Character A starts to sing. And most amazing thing happens, Character B joins in and gives Character A, a cup of white chocolate peppermint hot chocolate, and a kiss on the cheek for being thoughtful. It was so worth it for the hot chocolate, the kiss was just a well deserved tip."
> 
> MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! THIS HAS BEEN SO FUN!


End file.
